…says President must outline new direction for GuyanaOn the eve of President Donald Ramotar’s ceremonial opening of the 10th Parliament General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) Lincoln Lewis has laid out his demands on behalf of his constituency.Lewis is confident that the new President will, unlike his predecessor Bharrat Jagdeo, listen to the demands of the union body.At a specially arranged press conference at the Critchlow Labour College, the GTUC General Secretary said that despite the rhetoric being spewed by the President as it relates to continuing along the Jagdeo line, “he (Donald Ramotar) will part ways from the autocratic rule of Jagdeo and seek to carve out a legacy of his own.”GTUC General Secretary Lincoln LewisAccording to Lewis, it is important for Ramotar to be cognizant of the fact that the opening of the 10th Parliament comes at a time of the conclusion of a period during which the former President had ascribed to himself a high level of autocracy and during which “we saw the miniaturisation of every state entity and the denuding of their rights and responsibility in executing the respective mandate to the nation’s citizens.”Lewis pointed out too that this practice by Jagdeo has crept even into non-governmental organisations and has thrown up ‘little Caesars’ that ascribe to themselves the authority to miniaturize managers at various levels of management.“This dictatorial act has contributed to the level of decay in society that has seen our Constitution and Laws violated and citizens and workers’ rights transgressed with impunity…This is the state of affairs President Ramotar has inherited and he must immediately seek to depart from it if he is to create a just society during his tenure in office,” Lewis asserted.He pointed out, too, that the Constitution is designed to forge a system of governance that promotes concerted effort and broad-based participation in national decision-making in order to develop a viable economy and a harmonious community.This, he said, should be based on democratic values,Chicago White Sox Jerseys, social justice,Josh Hart College Jersey, fundamental human rights and the rule of law even as efforts are made to “celebrate our cultural and racial diversity and strengthen our unity by eliminating any and every form of discrimination…in our collective quest for a perfect nation.”According to Lewis, it is Labour’s fervent view that first and foremost, the President needs to deal with an array of issues in his address to point the nation in another direction.? These, Lewis said, include the right to freedom of association for every citizen to be affiliated to a political party or any civic grouping of choice,Johnny Bench Reds Jersey, as they simultaneously enjoy the protection from being discriminated against by the government for exercising such choice.Confident that the GTUC was partially responsible for the swing of votes thus resulting in the current dispensation of Parliament,Justin Upton Tigers Jersey, Lewis noted that should President Ramotar fail to address the critical issues that face Guyana, then it will have to lobby the support of the Opposition which holds a combined Majority in the National Assembly.“For workers,wholeslae cheap nfl jerseys china, it means selecting a union of their choice without the interference of management and government, the return to respect for trade unionism, and collective bargaining in the Public Sector. These are sacred rights that were embraced by the labour movement, the PPP, Guyana Government and employers when this country ratified ILO Conventions 98 and 87 in the year 1966.”He further charged that, “we cannot as a people continue to tolerate the violations of our Constitution and laws as we have seen over the past years, where parliamentarians, government officials and the protected are being given immunity to violate the laws while the masses are expected to honour those laws…We cannot have one law for the privileged and another law for the masses.”He asserted too that it is universally accepted that, where there are rules , these must be for everyone, and providing that President Ramotar is prepared to embrace this principle, Guyanese can look forward to living in a better society where all are treated equally. Lewis told media operatives that he will pay keen attention to the President’s presentation, outlining that “as we address the security of this natio