Former President Donald Ramotar today warned against factionalism in the trade union movement, telling reporters that such division does not augur well for the working class.
He made the comments as there were competing Labour Day marches and rallies again in Georgetown.
The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) along with the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) marched from Main Street to the Critchlow Labour College for their rally, as the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) marched from Church Street to the National Park for their rally.
At the National Park, the former President said “they have to put aside political differences and build the labour movement on the basis of democracy. They have to democratize the trade union movement. That is what has caused the division, and that problem has still not been solved as yet, and I hope that they realize that they are putting the whole working class into a great disadvantage, unless they build some unit in this country”.
FITUG’s President, Carvil Duncan also called on the trade unions to end the division, as he addressed members of FITUG and GAWU at the National Park.
“We are on the road towards economic independence and we are on another road, and the other road is that we must stop this confounded nonsense, our divided trade union movement. When we divide the trade union movement, that is in fact dividing the working class and our aims and objectives cannot be achieved,” he said.
Mr. Duncan also challenged the unions to unite to address issues confronting the poor and working class.
Alluding to President Irfaan Ali’s “One Guyana” plan, Mr. Duncan said while it is important to address the issue of social cohesion, there are also many other pressing issues.
“That is all good, but as working people we have some problems. And our problems are, what we now earn in the private sector cannot sustain and maintain us, and hence something ought to be done, and I am saying while the grass is green, the horse is starving,” the FITUG President.
The veteran trade unionist said there are grave disparities between the salaries of the public servants and those working within the private sector, and the salaries of Guyanese workers and the salaries of foreign workers in Guyana.
“Let us not fool ourselves. There are those who are coming in this country, earning more than us, and are exploiting us, and hence we have a role to prepare the workers for the future,” he said.
According to Duncan, the trade unions have a role to play in educating workers on the development of the country’s oil and gas sector, and to also guard against the misuse of the country’s resources.
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