– Commission says industrial action illegal, negotiations ongoing In continuing their protest for increased wages and salaries, workers attached to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) downed tools again yesterday in front of the entity’s headquarters at Brickdam.Senior Industrial Officer of the Guyana Public Service Union,Cheap Jerseys, Dennis English, said they had given management of the GGMC up to last year-end to reach agreement on a revised increase for the workers.He said that the Management of the GGMC does not appear to have any immediate plans to seriously consider the demands of the workers and their union.Several staffers protesting at GGMC headquartersEnglish further noted that every proposal put forward by the union is being brushed aside. Negotiations have been ongoing for over a year.According to English, “The action is as a result of the failure of the Management of the GGMC to conclude in an amicable manner, the negotiations for wages and salaries for workers of the GGMC for 2013/2014”.He said negotiations for 2013 salary increases began back in 2012,Cheap NFL Jerseys, but there has been little success in convincing the Management and the Minister in charge of the sector to meet the needs of the workers.English noted that the union was pushing for the interim increase during the negotiation period to ensure that workers did not lose out from the negotiating process.Workers attached to interior locations could be called out if the negotiations do not bear fruit.According to GPSU representative Jermaine Hermanstine, “Because we had a legitimate expectation that by December 31, 2014 all of the matters should have been resolved because of documentation,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, the workers have chosen to withdraw their labour which is a legitimate right…There are also rumours that management is intimidating workers and if this is so, they should desist from doing that because it will only intensify strike action,NFL Jerseys China, because we are not getting the redress we need.”He continued: “What we are doing, we have a legitimate right to do! The act says the Minister responsible for the sector has the legal right to approve all funding and over two months now the proposal is at the Minister’s desk and to date we cannot get approval. We are saying if this is a working class government and this is the attitude of a working class government, well there is much more to be desired.”During the protest action, GGMC in a press release yesterday noted that staffers of the organisation, with the support of the Guyana Public Service Union, “again commenced industrial action on January 06, 2015 on the issue of wage increases even while the negotiations with the Management of the Commission are ongoing”.“The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission has honoured the terms and conditions of the signed Terms of Resumption of Work and has worked assiduously and tirelessly to achieve amicable resolution to the issues. In this regard,Jerseys China Wholesale, the Commission has reiterated the need to abide by the standing agreement between the Guyana Public Service Union and the Commission for the Recognition and Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes, which clearly identifies the steps to be taken to resolve the current issues. Deviations from these enshrined protocols can be construed as acts of bad faith,NFL Jerseys China, more so given that discussions and engagements were ongoing between the Union and the Commission. The Commission wishes to assure the public that all necessary measures and mechanisms will be instituted to ensure that the work of the Commission is not unduly disrupted by what it considers an illegal industrial action,” GGMC emphasised.