‘Stop the brain drain, put people over profits’- GPSU tells Govt.

Jun 25, 2024 News

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) on Sunday called on the Government of Guyana to “Stop the brain drain, put people over profits,” by prioritizing its growth and modernization agendas to include adequate accommodation for public servants.

“Put them (public servants) over profit because without the workers you cannot have profit, without the workers we cannot have good roads, you cannot have schools, who building, who maintains, it’s the workers,” First Vice President of GPSU, Dawn Gardener told Kaieteur News on Monday.

Gardener said that there is a great need for the government to place public servants on the front burner.

“You (Government) have to have adequate accommodation for them, always remember that your human capital is important, your human resources are important, and they must be treated with priority, treated with respect,” she said adding, “You always hear comments about the profit part of it, the outcome, but you haven’t heard, you don’t hear, where this profit was driven from, the profits was driven from your human resources.”

Similarly, the Union, in a letter published in Sunday’s edition of the Kaieteur News in observance of the United Nations Public Service Day highlighted the importance of public servants and noted the lack of recognition received.

“As you continue to deliver Quality Public Services to the citizenry and escalate the development process of Guyana, be mindful of your value, role and the impact of the services provided to the communities that benefit and depend on these facilities for their survival,” the Union said in the letter.

Further, the GPSU said that as governments across the world reprioritize their agendas to handle global shifts and problems emanating from wars, climate disaster, widening gaps in inequalities, poverty and technology, public service workers find themselves holding the shorter end of the stick.

As such, GPSU is urging the government to reprioritize its growth and modernization agendas to include adequate accommodation for the human capital.

Meanwhile, the Union reminded that development and progress must include the workers that manage and implement the system that delivers quality public services for a better future.

“While cumulative wealth is created for some, precarious work continues for others. Stop the hemorrhaging of much needed resources that can provide adequate pay for workers,” GPSU said adding that “The time to act is now.”

“Public Service Workers deliver the core of government services and lack the recognition for the value created; their development is stymied by poor responsive mechanisms to strengthen them in preparation for a better future, for themselves and that of their families,” the GPSU stated.

Meanwhile, this publication had reported that President Irfaan Ali on March 7, 2024 at the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) Annual Officers Conference, announced that public servants can look forward to better salaries come 2027.

“I want assure that by the time we get to 2027, and there is a misconception about the resource inflow, the magnitude of resource that will come to the revenue base of our country will really have the greater effect in 2027 and onward,” Ali said.

Guyana stands disadvantaged by the lopsided agreement signed with U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil for the Stabroek Block. However, with the lack of ring-fencing, the country is losing approximately US$4B annually.

The country’s Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who is also the chief policymaker for the oil and gas sector, at one of his weekly press conferences said that Guyana’s current annual take from its oil resources is under US$2B.

He anticipates that by 2027 Guyana’s revenue inflow from the oil sector will be around US$9B.

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Dawn Gardener, GPSU, prioritize, public service, workers

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