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‘Not to worry, your jobs are secure’ – President Ali tells Dem. Harbour Bridge staff
President Ali speaking with staff of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) on Saturday morning.
(Kaieteur News) – Staff of the soon to be decommissioned Demerara Harbour Bridge were on Saturday assured of their jobs by President Irfaan Ali during a meeting. Saturday’s meeting occurred one day prior to the opening of the new Demerara River Bridge.
The Head-of-State thanked the staff for their years of service and assured them that their welfare is protected.
“There is an old saying for the religious community ‘In all things, give thanks.’ Today, I thought it was very important, even before we commission the new Demerara Bridge that has evoked such grand pride among Guyanese of every walk of life that I do something much more important. Even before we cut the ribbon to open the new bridge, I’m here to say thank you to the staff and all those who laboured for decades to keep this old bridge going and to ensure that the people of Guyana had a bridge that could have served them,” President Ali stated.
The president made it clear that the new bridge will not erase all the hard work and contribution the staff made to the old bridge. As such, he said their contribution to the development of Guyana through the Ministry of Public Works will continue “unbroken”.
“Not a single one of you, and you know this, have to worry about placement, have to worry about the security of your job. I can guarantee you that, that is not a worry at all, neither would you be losing any of your benefits or the level of salaries that you have, because your service will continue and you will grow with the new opportunities that will come your way,” the president guaranteed.
Some of the staff of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation.
Kaieteur News understands that the DHBC has approximately 170 staff who served for approximately 30 years.
“You know this… your jobs are secured; your service is secured. Your time is secured, and the opportunities ahead of you will be as any other contributor in the ministry,” president Ali assured.
The staff were told that the government is in the process of finalizing the movement of the old bridge noting that the technical, engineering and maintenance expertise will be critically involved when completed.
Further, the president announced that while there is need for minimum maintenance on the new bridge, a team will be needed there.
“The maintenance of the new bridge while it will have minimal need, you’ll still have some administrative need, the electrical and sweeping need and up keep of that bridge. So, I’ve asked [Wayne] Watson (General Manager of DHBC) also to put together that team, so we have a smooth takeover of the operations there,” the president disclosed.
Meanwhile, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill told the staff of the Demerara Harbour Bridge that, “…in the transition nobody will be displaced.”
The minister said that an assessment of the staff and their years of service has started noting that parts of the old bridge will be used to link between Sandhills and Timehri.
“I can say for sure, sections of the bridge, both retractor and acceptor spans and other segments will be going to do the Sandhills – Timehri crossing to make the road we have built from Sandhills to Falmouth into Bartica accessible, I can assure of that,” Edghill said on Friday.
Additionally, on Saturday, Edghill said that “There are vacancies for them in many places, if people have to go, but the actual set of skills that we need to remain, we are still working that out, and we will inform and we will comply with the law and with your instructions to ensure that the welfare of all the workers are protected.”
As of Monday, the Demerara Harbour Bridge, which has already outlived its lifespan by over 40 years and has been providing accessibility between Regions Three and Four will be replaced by the new four-lane high-span Demerara River Bridge.
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