By Jomo Paul
[www.inewsguyana.com] – The University of Guyana workers have rejected a call from Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, for there to be a resumption of work from this morning (February 12) at the university.
Ogle in a written response to the unions made it clear that established industrial relations practices were not followed. He said that before proceeding on strike the unions should have sought the intervention of the Ministry of Labour, which was only done after strike action had escalated.
The letter from Ogle indicated that should the workers return to work and talks are still unfruitful, the Ministry would then intervene with conciliatory service.
But a joint release from the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) and the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU) rejected this proposal from the Ministry.
The unions said that strike action would continue today and may proceed into next week if necessary.
“The Unions are preparing for a potential long haul even as they remain open to sincere offers from the administration,” the statement noted.
It has been almost three weeks since industrial action began at UG over a failed compromise between the university’s administration and the unions to increase workers’ salaries.
