• Latest
May Day 2018 – Plight of workers remains unchanged

May Day 2018 – Plight of workers remains unchanged

5 years ago
Blue Justice Caribbean Hub blazes against fisheries crimes

Blue Justice Caribbean Hub blazes against fisheries crimes

2 hours ago

US launches 3 programmes to benefit Grenada’s Youth

2 hours ago
Canada and World Food Programme READY to aid Grenada   

Canada and World Food Programme READY to aid Grenada   

2 hours ago
Workshop to boost confidence in elections across Caribbean and Americas

Workshop to boost confidence in elections across Caribbean and Americas

2 hours ago
Commonwealth Adviser wins prestigious award for anti-corruption work

Commonwealth Adviser wins prestigious award for anti-corruption work

2 hours ago
Jetblue bolsters service to Grenada for Spicemas 2023

Jetblue bolsters service to Grenada for Spicemas 2023

3 hours ago
Reminder: No Through Road, Mt Rush

Temporary closure of Frequente By-road leading to Gwankai Road

3 hours ago
Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2023

Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2023

3 hours ago
PM’s statement on occasion of Ramadan

PM’s statement on occasion of Ramadan

3 hours ago
The next new normal: The Caribbean post-Covid-19

What’s happening in the US banking sector?

12 hours ago
GIS moves to weekly news wrap-up  

GIS moves to weekly news wrap-up  

13 hours ago
Pure Grenada Excellence Champion Customer Service Programme

Pure Grenada Excellence Champion Customer Service Programme

1 day ago
NOW Grenada
  • Front Page
  • Categories
    • General News
      • All
      • Agriculture & Fisheries
      • Arts & Culture
      • Business
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Health
      • History
      • Lifestyle
      • Law
      • Politics
      • Technology
      • Travel & Tourism
      • Weather
      • Youth
    • Sports
      • All
      • Athletics
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Watersports
    • Community
      • All
      • Tribute
    • Crime
    • Features
      • All
      • Today in History
    • Opinion/Commentary
    • Press Releases
      • All
      • Advertisements
      • Notices
  • Video
  • Notices & Vacancies
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Front Page
  • Categories
    • General News
      • All
      • Agriculture & Fisheries
      • Arts & Culture
      • Business
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Health
      • History
      • Lifestyle
      • Law
      • Politics
      • Technology
      • Travel & Tourism
      • Weather
      • Youth
    • Sports
      • All
      • Athletics
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Watersports
    • Community
      • All
      • Tribute
    • Crime
    • Features
      • All
      • Today in History
    • Opinion/Commentary
    • Press Releases
      • All
      • Advertisements
      • Notices
  • Video
  • Notices & Vacancies
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
NOW Grenada
No Result
View All Result

May Day 2018 – Plight of workers remains unchanged

This story was posted 5 years ago
2 May 2018
in Business, Politics
3 min. read
Member of the Grenada Union of Teachers demonstrating
Share

by Curlan Campbell, NOW Grenada

  • GTUC called on government to move quickly to address the concerns of workers
  • Trade union presidents addressed hundreds of workers on issues about labour

The plight of the Grenadian workers has not changed much over the years, as was quite evident during Tuesday”s International Workers Day celebration.

Workers say they continue to face many challenges in the workplace including issues relating to pension restoration, eradication of contract work, health and safety, late salary payments and low wages, while other grievances point to the lack of confidence in government.

Members of GTAWU with placards

Placards, banners, and chants were used during the May Day March from Tempe playing field to the National Stadium to vent the frustration of workers. The trade unions banded together under the theme “Uniting workers for social and economic advancement.”

“Public workers have more patients than the hospital; Who sell gravel and concrete when, where, why, to whom and how much; 15 sits in the house but not enough chairs in schools; Salary doing limbo it staying low” were some of the placard messages.

The Grenada Trades Union Council (GTUC) called on the government to move quickly to address the concerns of workers. The trade union presidents addressed hundreds of workers on issues about labour.

President of the Commercial and Industrial Workers Union (CIWU), George Mason, electrified the crowd with his speech after he accused employers of maximising the economic crisis to increase their profits. “In 2014 the TUC entered into an arrangement with government and a structural adjustment programme was fully supported by labour; and while the programmes deepened, the unions were insisting on job protection. However, some employers compounded the problem by using the prevailing economic crisis to maximise profit by increasing workers’ workload leading to more and more workers being burnt out.”

Lydon Lewis, President of the Grenada Union of Teachers (GUT), wasted little time in addressing many of government’s undelivered promises, particularly in the area of education. “They promised the rebuilding of schools, yet some of the schools have not been touched. They promised to regularise teachers and have not completed the process, and teachers still have not received their negotiated benefits agreed upon in our collective agreement. So, we say we must stand against a government that refuses to respect the collective agreement.”

Rachael Roberts, President of the Public Workers Union, tackled the issues of contract work which she said seems to permeate the public sector. “Public officers: we raised our voices to call on government to stop the dismantling of the public service through contract work and instrument of appointments which are down-pressing labour and depriving workers of stability of tenure.”

The government has also been accused by President of the Bank and General Workers Union, Justin Campbell of neglecting the agriculture sector. “Many of our government estates have been commercialised, but to date, productivity is at its lowest. Just imagine one estate moved from 16 workers to only 3, so how can we expect maximum productivity and full cultivation of these estates? Take for example Belle Vue estate. Prior to it being commercialised you could have seen workers engaged and production taking place, but today under new management the estates now look like a forest.”

Regarding the ongoing negotiations surrounding the restoration of pension, André Lewis, President General of the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union (GTAWU), said the government would be held to its 30 June 2018 deadline to resolve the issue of pension. “We shall hold you accountable come the 30 June 2018 deadline to resolve the pension issue, because it is unfair that parliamentarians enjoy their benefits after just serving 2 terms in office, while workers go home after retirement without any compensation.”

NOW Grenada is not responsible for the opinions, statements or media content presented by contributors. In case of abuse, click here to report.
Tags: curlan campbellgrenada technical and allied workers uniongtawugtucgutmay dayworkers
Next Post
Do we appreciate local artists? (Part 1)

Do we appreciate local artists? (Part 1)

Comment on post Cancel reply

Please enter your valid email address.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© NOW Grenada. All Rights Reserved. Published by Aqua Design Inc. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Front Page
  • Categories
    • General News
      • All
      • Agriculture & Fisheries
      • Arts & Culture
      • Business
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Health
      • History
      • Lifestyle
      • Law
      • Politics
      • Technology
      • Travel & Tourism
      • Weather
      • Youth
    • Sports
      • All
      • Athletics
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Watersports
    • Community
      • All
      • Tribute
    • Crime
    • Features
      • All
      • Today in History
    • Opinion/Commentary
    • Press Releases
      • All
      • Advertisements
      • Notices
  • Video
  • Notices & Vacancies
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

Copyright NOW Grenada

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Visit our Privacy Policy | Terms of Use.

Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Visit our Privacy Policy | Terms of Use.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.