| ‘Hollywood must shut down and let the acting stop’ – Gillian Burton By Sharmain CornetteGuyana is on the verge of an industrial relations collapse,Jerseys From China, stated Gillian Burton, President of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), when she in the company of other union members staged a picket exercise outside the Ministry of Education yesterday.GTUC President, Gillian Burton (second from left), in the company of other union members, picketing outside the Education Ministry yesterdayThe exercise, Burton said,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, was intended to highlight the fact that qualified persons within the public service are left to act for many years and are not appointed. Foremost on the acting list, she mentioned Ms Geneveive Whyte-Nedd, who has for more than five years been acting in the capacity of Chief Education Officer.According to Burton, the union is looking at persons throughout the public sector who have been acting for an inordinate number of years,Discount NFL Jerseys, a state of affairs that has reduced the public service to a grand theatre.“We have Hollywood in Guyana today where appointments are not given to persons but they are being placed to act and we know such persons, not only the CEO,Jerseys From China, but other persons who qualify to hold positions, they are just being placed to act.”“The time has come for Hollywood to shut down and let the acting stop. These public servants must be appointed,” Burton insisted.She opined that one of the reasons for the current predicament is the fact that lawlessness is allowed to abound, even as she noted that there can be no hindrance to the appointment of persons such as Whyte-Nedd, as they are aptly qualified.The Union President disclosed that it has been on repeated occasions that the Education Ministry has been alerted of its failure to appoint Whyte-Nedd through the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) to which she is directly connected.“They (GPSU) would have done all that there was to do. We see it as the umbrella body of the labour movement in Guyana and since their cries and pleas and petitions were not answered we have decided to mobilise, organise and act on these issues because they would have done all that there was to do.”And in order to emphasise the seriousness of the situation, Burton said that yesterday’s exercise was an initiative that was taken by the executives of the GTUC to raise awareness about the plight of those that are left in a capacity to act. The move, she added is also one in support of the resolution that was passed on May Day to have Whyte-Nedd be appointed to the position in which she currently acts.“We felt that the time has come for us to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk, for us to come out in support so that persons will know that we are not idly giving out resolutions. We expect that the government of this country will act upon things when the labour movement speaks.”For this reason, Burton noted that it is the anticipation of the union that civic minded individuals and other trade unions will be encouraged to support the ‘acting’ concern even as she stressed that “today it is Ms Whyte-Nedd, but tomorrow it can be any one of us.”She further emphasised that given all the negative developments in a number of areas, a serious message is being echoed which suggests that the country is on the verge of an industrial relations collapse, which is taking its toll on the very core of the fabric of the nation.The Union President highlighted that such is the state of the nation that persons are being tortured and imprisoned, labour leaders are being arrested and placed before the court and legal action is being taken against them. Expressing deep concern, Burton said that Guyanese are in such a sad position where they cannot provide for themselves and families a feasible way of living.“We see the trampling and marginalising of rights and victimisation and so the time has come to stop being fearful. We have to stop sitting in the comfort of our homes and offices and come out and support these actions. We have to speak up,NFL Jerseys China,” Burton stressed.“Union women, in particular, will have to raise their voices, because we know that women will have to come to the fore and stand up for what they believe in,” the Union President related.“We are calling on all persons to get up and stand up for their rights and oppose the scourge that is marginalising us, that puts us under pressure and in a shackle of chains even after emancipation of our human rights and justice.”According to Burton,China Jerseys, even the religious body is now being put into a position where it is being trampled upon and “we think the time has come for the churches to also speak out…we must stand up and act in accordance with what our hearts say.” |
