Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana Riding on the Crest of Truth
Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:00 by GxMedia
As the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) prepared to hold daily marches through the streets of Georgetown, the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) on Tuesday warned that hefty salary increases would fuel inflation.
The PYO- the youth arm of the governing Peoples Progressive Party (PPP)- also accused the GPSU of siding with the opposition to destabilise the country.
“The GPSU has shown its hand in colluding with the opposition in order to bring a halt to Government’s work. We have been down this road before. Demanding an increase in salaries while not working for expansion of the economy will result in inflation that will nullify those salary increases,” the PYO said in a statement.
Historically, the GPSU’s members have been largely traditional supporters of the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR), the major partner in the opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
APNU and the Alliance For Change (AFC) have both rubbished government’s five percent pay increase for this year and have endorsed GPSU’s demand for a 15 percent hike in wages and salaries.
Demerara Waves Online News (www.demwaves.com) was told by a GPSU President, Patrick Yarde that the police “have not yet responded” to a request for permission to hold several street marches from Friday December 20, 2013 at 11 AM to Tuesday December 31, 2013 to intensify their agitation for increased wages and salaries.
The PYO urged the GPSU to abandon its “populist stance” and “posturing” when it is economically “irresponsible and not viable.”
The youth arm called on the union to discard its “partisan political banter and irresponsible ultimatums” and instead work with the PPP-led administration to develop a strategy to move Guyana forward.
The GPSU also came in for sharp criticism by the PYO which questioned where was the union when the opposition blocked the construction of the Amaila Hydropower Project and the Specialty Hospital.
The PYO reiterated that the hydropower project would have created an economic and labour boom in Guyana and the hospital would have benefited many of their members and public servant workers.
The PYO stressed that the GPPSU and the opposition appeared to be collaborating again on a joint strategy to stymie and outright sabotage development in Guyana. “Together they are delaying implementation of work programs and projects across Government Agencies.