00:00You want change, you don't like how the union run in, you say you want change.
00:05You don't vote in the union election, so that's why things have to stay how it is.
00:11You could make that change by coming out and participating in your union's election.
00:18October 28th is expected to see an historic election in the National Union of Government
00:24and Federated Workers, the NUGFW.
00:27As the workers' guardians seek to remove President James Lambert from the seat he has
00:32held for the last 16 years.
00:35I don't know if God made him a promise that he would live for the next 100 years.
00:41At 84 years old, after serving 16 years as the helm of the union, he still believes that
00:49he could carry it forward.
00:51However tenure aside, the workers' guardians say their biggest issue with their current
00:55leadership is the leadership style.
00:58His view is, I know the constitution say that, but me, I don't want to call a meeting for
01:04eight months.
01:06I don't want to call a general council for five months.
01:10We felt that that cannot continue and James Lambert must be removed.
01:22The workers' guardians are promising to do as their name says and put workers first and
01:27foremost once elected.
01:30We were going to propose, just imagine you as a member of the union, your roof blow off,
01:36your house burned down, do you feel that you being a member of this social organisation
01:43that you should be able to go to your union to get some assistance and we are saying yes,
01:49we are going to make those provisions.
01:52It's a whole paradigm shift in terms of how the NUGFW is going to operate.
01:58We are member centric and we are going to put things in place to assist members.
02:05A worker suspended with no pay or half pay, we are saying we will give you back your pay,
02:12but you feel that you should be able to go to your union for some kind of financial assistance.
02:18They are also promising to implement a pension plan for daily rated workers and continued
02:24medical insurance coverage for retirees.
02:27I always say, when you retire, your bills don't retire, your bills don't retire.
02:33So we want to engage government, yes there is some committee going now, that daily rated
02:38workers, until the government introduce a pension plan for daily rated workers, daily
02:45rated workers must access what we call the senior citizen grant at age 60.
02:52They must get senior citizen grant at age 60, because it's 30 years now we are waiting
02:58on the pension.
03:00Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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