The National Workers Union (NWU) has given the Government Negotiating Team (GNT) 14 days to get its act together before the two entities engage in negotiations for the period April 1st, 2022, to March 31st, 2025.
In a letter to the GNT dated December 27, 2024, NWU’s Secretary-General Johann Harewood wrote that the NWU cannot and will not accept any disregard or disrespect in the course of negotiations between the two entities.
“Recent public pronouncements on negotiations without any discussion nor agreement with the NWU will not be accepted. The NWU’s negotiating team, which fully encompasses its Shop Stewards from the various Ministries has to be engaged appropriately,” Harewood wrote.
Harewood, in his letter to the Chairman of the GNT Vern Gill, stated “As you would recall, from the onset, a structure and framework was agreed upon for the conduct of our negotiations for the period April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2025. Every meeting held since the commissioning of the GNT (Government Negotiating Team) adhered to and followed this approach and both sides agreed in advance of each meeting, which Ministry by Ministry proposals would be discussed. As per our last sessions between September – November 2024, we discussed at length the NWU’s submissions, reasoning, justifications etc and are expecting, as per customary, that at the next session(s), the GNT would provide its responses as a basis for negotiations.”
The December 27, 2024 letter not only redirected Gill’s attention to the NWU’s letter of September 14, 2023, but also made it clear to Gill that the NWU is giving his team 14 days to get its act together.