The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) is moving to dismiss some 157 workers this year. The company has already served termination letters to 76 of its workers, with the remainder slated to be sent off within three months. These dismissals, the company said, are part of its “restructuring plans and rationalization of the staffing establishment”, but the main Parliamentary Opposition, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) is against it.
During a press conference today, the Former Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Annette Ferguson said that the government has pulled out all the stops in ensuring that sugar workers are retained in a ‘failing industry’ but refuses to do the same for GWI employees.
“This can only be described as ethnic discrimination. Since the management of GWI claims that the company is not making profit, then the regime should extend the same hands to the workers of GWI as they have done for the sugar workers by continuously pumping billions into a failing industry,” she said.
The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Member added that with the nation battling the COVID-19 pandemic, it is ‘unconscionable’ for the government to allow the termination of employees.
“With our nation faced with a high increase of COVID cases and deaths [and] a failing economy, why would the government act so unconscionable and callously against its people by placing them on the breadline.”
The GWI has maintained that due process was followed before any decision making and all of the 76 served termination letters will receive their severance benefits by the end of June.
Also, this publication was informed that the Board of Directors and Management of GWI have been making efforts to place employees in public and private organizations and will continue to engage more entities for this purpose.
