81 more GWI employees to be sacked in three months’ time

Jun 03, 2021 News

– Company says trying to find other jobs for them

GWI’s Main office.

Kaieteur News – Under the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act, the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) intends to dismiss another 81 of its employees within a three-month timeframe.
In a statement issued yesterday, the company disclosed that a total of 157 staffers are listed to be sent off as part of its restructuring plans and rationalising of the staffing establishment. GWI posited in the statement that the workers must go in order to “ensure the efficient and productive management of our daily operations.”
The process of sending home workers started Monday with 76 staff members receiving their termination letters. GWI noted that the 76 will officially be off the job by June 30 and they will receive their severance benefits by month end.
The remaining 81, according to GWI, are slated to be sent off within a three-month period.
GWI claimed too that it has been trying to find other jobs for the laid off workers.
In the statement, it was noted that, “The Board of Directors and Management of GWI have been making efforts to place employees in public and private organisations and will continue to engage more entities for this purpose.”
Though unable to share evidence that the company is actively working to re-employ the terminated workers, GWI’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Leanna Bradshaw, assured that the process is being done in “various forms.”
GWI’s decision to sack some of its staffers was made known by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shaik Baksh, during a recently held press conference.
He had disclosed that the company was sacking employees because of its high wages bill and related production. Baksh had claimed that the staffing complement was doubled by the Coalition Administration under the leadership of then CEO, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles.
“When we compare 2015 to August 2020, we found that the employment numbers moved from about just over 600 in 2015 to over 1,300 in 2020,” he had told reporters.
The doubling up of the staff complement, according to Baksh, has driven the employment costs from being $96 million in 2015 to $240 million in 2020. He noted that there was a staggering 140 percent increase as at August 2020, and related that a decision was taken to undertake the rationalising of staff because it was just not sustainable for GWI.
The CEO had added too, that GWI needed to address its financial operations saying, “We have to look at the expenses – not only employment costs, energy cost, we’re looking at other areas of operations, chemical uses and all of these things. Therefore, we had to proceed in this and we reached a stage where a number of employees will have to be terminated in accordance with the law.”
Kaieteur News had reported recently, however, that GWI is “cash-strapped” and could not pay its electricity bill in 2018, a year under the Coalition Administration, when the company under then boss, Dr. Van West-Charles, spent some $30 million on a Christmas party and anniversary celebrations.
It was also reported last year that the company owed the Guyana Power and Light Inc. a total of $7 billion from 2018-2020. GWI’s expenditure had come under the spotlight because of its ‘cash-strapped’ state.

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