The union representing sacked National Communica-tions Network (NCN) employee Andrea Bryan is insisting that it meets management since the incident has implications for the future of other employees.
The Clerical and Commer-cial Workers Union (CCWU) on December 6 had requested a meeting with NCN following Bryan’s dismissal.
However, the company, by way of a letter dated December 10, addressed to the union’s General Secretary advised that Bryan’s termination was without prejudice “and in keeping with paragraph (2) of the termination clause in her employment contract and in accordance with the Termination and Severance Pay Act, Chapter 99.08 of the laws of Guyana.”
The CCWU feels NCN has so far ignored its requests for a meeting.
The union, in a statement issued on Thursday, also said that the letter signed by the company’s Human Resources Manager Dale Johnson stated that Bryan had already visited the office and collected her full termination benefits.
“Management of NCN, therefore wishes to advise that it will be of no useful purpose for any meeting to discuss the termination of employment of Bryan,” the union quoted the company as saying in its letter.
CCWU said it has since responded by letter to NCN insisting on a meeting with the state-owned media entity.
The union said it also pointed out that when management had called Bryan to chastise her for attending a seminar overseas, her request to have her union representative present was declined and she was told that the matter had nothing to do with the union.
The union said it was concerned with such an approach by the management, adding, “Industrial relations involving the union on one hand and the company on the other hand allows for a worker and his/her union representative to be present at any dispute between the worker and his/her manager.”
The union said it still expected to meet NCN since an issue such as this one had implications for the future if a non-executive employee has to get Cabinet’s approval to travel out of the country.
CCWU also said that the matter would be brought to the attention of the Union Network International (UNI), to which the union is affiliated. It said it was only in June this year that Bryan attended a UNI workshop held here and was involved in championing the cause of Caribbean media workers.
She had explained that UNICEF had written to NCN General Manager Martin Goolsarran the week before she was fired requesting her release to attend a conference in Trinidad and Tobago. She said when she enquired about the release, Goolsarran indicated to her that the Chief Executive Officer had returned the letter to him without any remarks. He told her that he would have further discussions on the request.
For the remainder of the week, she heard nothing more from Goolsarran and assumed “it was okay.”
“I didn’t think they would deny me the opportunity of representing Guyana and young people, especially as it relates to media, more so because I also produce a youth programme on radio in addition to the work I do on television.”
When asked if as her supervisor, he was unable to approve Bryan’s release, Goolsarran said more time was required.
Asked whether such approval had to be obtained from the Office of the President, Goolsarran told Stabroek News he did not want to comment on that. “Let’s just say that there wasn’t enough time to get the approval.”
Bryan said that as soon as she got back to Guyana, she went straight from the airport to the NCN studios where Goolsarran told her that approval had not been given for her to travel and that it was in breach of the procedures of Cabinet, which has to approve officers leaving the country.
He asked her for a report on why she travelled when approval was not granted, and she said she replied in writing that she was not aware that approval was not given since no one communicated this to her and silence was interpreted as consent.
She was told that she had two choices, either to resign or have her services terminated. She was told verbally in the presence of others that if she resigned, Youth Media, the group that produces an 11-minute newscast could continue to use NCN facilities to produce the programme. If her services were terminated it meant Youth Media would not have access to NCN equipment or resources. Youth Media is sponsored by UNICEF and supported by NCN and the National Commission on the Rights of the Child. She contacted her union representative who advised her not to resign. Bryan was fired by way of letter which did not state why she was fired.
Goolsarran contended that the letter did not spell out the details because she had been informed verbally.
