GGMC employees return to work following six week pay agreement for 2013

By Tracey Khan – Drakes

[www.inewsguyana.com] – Employees of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) are slated to return to work on Wednesday, January 28 bringing its prolonged period of industrial action to an end.

The management of the GGMC and the workers’ representative, the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) met on Tuesday and struck the deal which will bring the strike action to an end.

A six week across the board pay to employees will be made for 2013. This was a demand that was made in that year by the workers, bringing the 2013 negations to an end.

The agreement will also see the implementation of an assessment performance plan for workers which will see the “de-bunching” of workers based on experience and qualifications.

“It’s a performance or job evaluation assessment, where it will look at different class of workers. Over the years we have persons who have been working long and then we have those that are qualified, so what is happening is that the people who have been working long ended up with the same pay as they people who are qualified…so we will be doing the de-bunching,” a source close to the negotiation told iNews.

Workers initiated the strike following a row over salary increases. The protest initially commenced in November 2014 but came to a halt after a proposal was put forward by GGMC management for an interim payout of 8%, across the board, while discussions continued on a 35% increase.