Political unionism has outlived its usefulness -- says Professor Thomas


Guyana Chronicle
October 8, 1999


POLITICAL unionism has become obsolete and is now more detrimental to the trade union movement, senior University Professor Dr Clive Thomas told the opening of the Third Biennial Conference of the Guyana Trades Union Congress Wednesday.

Addressing delegates at the National Cultural Centre, the Head of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Guyana (UG) said the disadvantages of this culture have long outdone the benefits it provided in the past.

Calling on the trade union movement to be more "pro-active" than it is now, Professor Thomas said politics is becoming more and more divisive to the movement.

"The original advantages it brought were many, including mass involvement in trade union development, the synergy produced from a heightened industrial and political consciousness among trade union members and, perhaps most important of all, state support for trade union legislation at critical junctures. Increasingly, however, the disadvantages have outgrown these," Thomas declared.

He opined that the trade union movement has become fragmented along political party lines, and more often than not, this splintering reflects the "obsessive competitive politics of our times and the divisive role of race-based politics."

Alluding to other discredits of the system, the University lecturer noted that cosy relationships with political parties have encouraged, in some instances, the entrenchment of a trade union leadership class, protected by the political party structure and insulated from the rank and file.

"With this comes the loss of rank and file participation, transparency, and trade union democracy," Thomas added.

And there is the risk of the trade union being diverted from its primary objective of securing its members welfare, to advancing the interests of the political party to which it is attached.

Thomas referred to several weaknesses in the organisational structure of the local trade union movement, which, he indicated, has resulted in less than a half of the regular salaried workforce being non-unionised.

"Several unions have, for decades now, become little more than figments. They have no real membership base. And indeed, their strongest claim to being a union is the historical possession of a long ago legally recognised trade union name," Thomas posited.

"The principles of `volunteerism' and `gentleman's agreement' still prevail as the norm in industrial practice - nearly a decade and a half after my constant inveighing against this, both as a former union leader and as adviser to the TUC. This practice of collective contracts as a legal basis for modern trade unionism is weak."

According to Thomas, the TUC, as an umbrella body, more often than not enters into trade disputes only after there is a major breakdown.

"With a large percentage of unionised workers engaged in state-owned and/or support establishments, this is a grave weakness, leading to both industrial and political instability," he added.

The renowned Caribbean economist noted too, that due to adverse economic conditions, overall public sector employment has fallen and unemployment is now at an estimated 11 per cent.

"The Ministry offers no acceptable directory of unemployment, and opportunities or description of occupational and industrial employment, and wage structure," Thomas said.

"There is no satisfactory nation-wide counselling and guidance service, particularly for new entrants. There is no effective nation-wide placement bureau for those seeking and those offering work."

Thomas said the survival of the trade union movement depends heavily on its ability to place its priorities on the national agenda and to ensure that the trade union is an active participant in promoting and shaping the national dialogue on development.

"There is no other practical way to ensure that the movement's perspectives on national issues are clearly articulated, communicated, and fully ventilated before decisions are taken," he explained.

"If you fail to do this, decisions will be taken, and irreversible processes set in train, some of which may have long-term adverse consequences for the trade union movement."

With this in mind, he referred to the recent `Armstrong Tribunal Report' which ruled for public servants to be paid a 31.6 per cent wage increase for this year and a further 26 per cent next year.

Thomas said the majority report, voted in favour of by Barbados-based Guyanese Dr Aubrey Armstrong and himself, is a nine-point package that seeks to provide the initial steps aimed at securing the transformation of the public service to a modern public management organisation.

He said to separate the pay award from this strategic objective is not in the interest of the Public Service Unions (PSU) nor the TUC, and it is therefore in the union's interest to champion those objectives, rather than be "sucked into the morass of contention and abuse."

The TUC Congress closes on Sunday with elections for office bearers.


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