Announcer/producer Andrea Bryan was fired from her job at the state-owned National Commu-nications Network (NCN) on Wednesday after she returned from attending a two-day seminar for reporting on children rights for regional journalists in Trinidad and Tobago.
NCN General Mana-ger Martin Goolsarran, when contacted, told the Stabroek News that Bryan was fired because she did not get approval to travel and participate in the training programme organized by the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) in collaboration with UNICEF and other international donors. He said it was a “serious breach of company’s policy”.
President of the Guyana Press Association Denis Chabrol said that “based on the information provided to us, the GPA is disturbed.”
He said the GPA executive was studying that information with a view to taking the necessary steps as it sees fit.
Bryan said UNICEF had written to her manager, Goolsarran, last week, for her release to attend the conference. She said when she enquired about the release, Goolsaran indicated to her that the Chief Executive Officer had returned it 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 Goolsaran 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 said that 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 on Wednesday morning she went straight from the airport to the NCN studios, where Goolsaran told her that approval was not 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 meant 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 s 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.
Bryan had worked at the then GTV (Guyana Television and Broadcasting Company), which later merged with the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation to become NCN, She said: “This year made it ten years since I worked at GTV and NCN. It makes me sad to leave this way. It hurts. I am looking for another job. I bear no malice to NCN. I have learnt. Most people who were fired from their jobs at NCN have moved on to better things. I hope I can do that as well.
“I learnt a lot at the rights of the child seminar in Trinidad and Tobago and I will keep championing the voices of young people. It is unfortunate that this chapter had to end this way.” (Miranda La Rose)
