Broomes meets union reps on GGMC industrial relations

Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes on Thursday met officials of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) as part of an ongoing dialogue between Government and the union on industrial relations matters regarding the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
Minister Broomes used the occasion to reiterate her commitment to good industrial relations between the Ministry and the workers during the meeting held at the Ministry.
“I am committed to working with you even when we disagree…You the workers are the most important pillars in the Ministry as you are the ones to implement policy,” she stressed.
Minister Broomes told those in attendance that even though there will be disagreements between the Ministry and the union over

industrial relations there must be a culture of respect.
She vowed to embrace the principles of good labour relations in accordance with international conventions signed on to by Guyana.
According to Broomes, she wants to see a departure from how things obtained just a few short years ago when workers of GGMC felt it necessary to take to the streets in protest. The minister said it is her vision that the Ministry of Natural Resources becomes an “exemplar of stellar labour relations with its employees and those of the agencies which fall under it…We can be a model for other ministries to show what decent labour relations could be.”
Present at the meeting were Gregory Gaspar –chairman of GPSU Branch No. 72; Sandrene Abrams – floor member GPSU Branch No. 72; Dennis English – GPSU, Unata De Freitas, the GGMC/GPSU workers’ representative and Beatrice Roberts-Austin – GGMC/GPSU branch secretary.