Remembering Justice Bernard as a silent Champion of Trade Unionism

Apr 02, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

The Executive Council and Members of the Guyana Public Service Union, join with the rest of Guyana, in expressing our deepest sympathy to the surviving relatives and dear friends of Retired Chancellor Désirée Patricia Bernard, JCCJ.

Justice Bernard was a silent champion for the working class. Upon her appointment to the Supreme Court Bench, she remained open, and available in rendering much needed advise to the Guyana Public Service Union. Her role as a Judge, constrained her expressions of deeply held concerns for the plights faced by Women in the Public Service.

The relationship the GPSU shared with Justice Bernard was a special one. At the request of Mr. Patrick Yarde, President of the Union, Justice Bernard willingly prepared a legal opinion to our benefit. It examined the legal weight and enforceability of certain Articles in the Constitution of Guyana, and also Conventions of the International Labour Organization.

This opinion, which is widely circulated by the GPSU, later formed part of a lecture delivered by Justice Bernard on the Union’s behalf to Members of the Bar Association and Civil Society Organizations at its Headquarters, 160 Regent & Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Bourda, Georgetown. Recently, on the issue of Collective Bargaining, we were able to gain guidance from the thoughtful opinion of Justice Bernard in filing a Constitutional Action to reaffirm this fundamental value enshrined in our Constitution. We await the full hearing of this matter.

Justice Bernard’s legacy for us is not the accolades, but it is the way she transformed the lives of ordinary people by standing against injustices everywhere. In the case of Shanique Myrie v The State of Barbados [2013] CCJ 1 (OJ) (R), she joined with the other Judges of the Caribbean Court of Justice to end discriminatory treatment of CARICOM nationals at airports across the Region. Also, in the outstanding public law case of Cheryl Scotland et al v Seeta Ramlall, she brought comfort to a number of staff of the Supreme Court who faced unscrupulous sanctions at the hands of the then Registrar, and were even placed on the breadline.

Recently, she continued her advocacy against injustices when she added her voice to calls for the confirmation of a Chancellor, and a Chief Justice for Guyana. The Guyana Public Service Union recognizes that these two offices are offices within the Public Service of Guyana, and wishes to state that the best way to honour the legacy of Justice Bernard, is to end this decade old assault on justice and proprietary. The Union notes that Justice Bernard was the first, and only female Chief Justice, and Chancellor of Guyana. The confirmation of the incumbents in the said offices will be significant in honouring Justice Bernard’s legacy of fighting for women, and the disadvantaged. Earlier this month, on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2024 held under the theme ‘Investing in women: Accelerate progress’, the GPSU noted that progress in this sense can be likened to the treatment of women in education, the world of work, the home, and in national decision making where their livelihoods and that of their families are affected. We urge upon those responsible for national decision making, to not allow the rich legacy bequeathed to us by Justice Bernard to be rendered nugatory by our denial of Guyanese women, and the girl child their much deserved appointment to seats of national significance in our society. We close with a quote from the notorious Ruth Badger Ginsburg who once famously said, “never underestimate the power of a girl with a book.”

Sleep on Désirée.

Sincerely,

Dawn Gardener

First Vice President

Guyana Public Service Union

Dawn Gardener, Désirée Patricia Bernard, First Vice President, Guyana Public Service Union, JCCJ

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