Manic Monday

Robert Guisseppi, president general of the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) yesterday declared next Monday as “Manic Monday,” stating that the union was “more than mad” with the offer made by the government during salary negotiations at the office of the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO).

He proclaimed the day as, “a day of sacrifice, to show solidarity” in response to the failure of the government to reach an agreement with the union for wage increases. Guisseppi called on supporters to bring out the entire workforce and “shut down the whole of government’s daily paid” arm to protest outside the St Vincent Street office of the CPO and demand salaries no less than the current market rate.

Before the meeting, Guisseppi promised supporters that he would return in 20 minutes with a response as to status of the agreement. He said if the government offered a suitable package he would continue negotiations, if not, talks would immediately stop and further action taken. After about 45 minutes of discussion, Guisseppi returned with what he described as “bad news.”

In his address to the affected workers, Guisseppi said, after 40 years of not having a pension plan, the Government agreed on a plan for daily paid employees in 1994, then fired over 7000 workers soon after. He said the plan was never implemented and government has since been trying to “downsize the union in a smart way,” by offering hundreds of workers Voluntary Separation Packages (VSEP). He said the government used “bobol economics” in formulating the figures for yesterday’s offer and described the move as “discrimination to the highest level.” Guisseppi said after 18 months of ongoing meetings, the government was offering wages way below the present market rate. He said the government offered $80,000 as pension for some workers who worked over 30 years. However if the worker retired at age 60, at the rate of $1,000 per month, the retiree would be broke in about six years.