The Guyana Public Service Union has written President Bharrat Jagdeo appealing for his intervention in the matter of government withholding the Critchlow Labour College subvention which was approved in the 2007 national budget.
In the letter dated January 18, President Patrick Yarde told Jagdeo that the union was concerned about the withholding of money from the college which was experiencing serious financial problems and was finding it difficult to continue its programmes.
Yarde said the reason for the denial of funds was not clear to the union since no public explanation had been proffered, and he was therefore not in a position to evaluate government’s stance in the matter.
“Be that as it may, what is clearly evident are the disadvantages and hardships which have resulted and particularly affect the students of the College, many of whom are in throes of preparing for examinations not only of those internal to the College, but of external examining bodies such as CSEC,” Yarde told the president in his letter. The union head said the result had been a great deal of anger and exasperation among students who had interpreted the government’s actions as being unreasonable and hardly sensitive to their career development.
Trade unionists and other members of society were provided with opportunities at the college which helped them to remedy their educational deficiencies, thereby enabling them to be more productive citizens, the letter stated. Yarde urged the President to intervene in the matter with a view to ensuring that those who were voluntarily prepared to take steps to improve their lives were not deprived of the opportunity.
The subvention for the college was catered for and approved in the 2007 budget but government said that it was reviewing the subventions given to organisations such as the Guyana Trades Union Congress which is not fully supported by the entire trades union movement.
One of the arguments put forward by the college was that many of the other union bodies received the assistance of the college, in that, many of their members studed there for the certificate in Industrial relations and other courses.
