President still to reply on GPSU concerns
The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) says that President Janet Jagan has not replied to a letter from its president, Patrick Yarde, in which he expressed concerns about the terms of reference of the Justice Carl Singh Commission of Enquiry which was appointed to look into the events that occurred during the 55-day public service strike. In his letter, Yarde had referred to certain parts of the terms of reference of the one-man commission which he said predetermined that there were breaches of the law perpetrated by the striking workers and which reduced Judge Singh's role to that of note-taker. The GPSU head had also spoken about the terms of reference predetermining that the hospital was invaded by strikers and that unlawful acts were perpetrated against Customs and Excise officers at the Customs Boat House and other sites around Georgetown. The letter also said that the GPSU had no intention of participating in the work of the commission. When Stabroek News contacted the office of Prime Minister, Sam Hinds, this newspaper was told that Hinds, now acting in the capacity of President, envisaged that a reply to Yarde's letter would be ready within a week. Yarde's letter to President Jagan had urgently requested that the President "substantially amend the terms of reference to leave the Commissioner appointed the determination of the issues involved without prior prejudice to his functions". Since the commission began its work last Thursday, there has been a noticeable lack of participation in the process by the GPSU. But a union source told Stabroek News that the decision was taken "not to have anything to do with the Commission" in the light of the fact that since the letter was written on July 15, there has not even been an acknowledgement from the government.
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