Dear Editor,
Permit me to comment on the Chief Labour Officer’s statement refuting a claim by the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union that he was “a no show” at a scheduled meeting on October, 7, 2010.
The meeting was fixed by the Chief Labour Officer (CLO) for 1 pm. At two minutes to one, as the Bauxite Company of Guyana’s (BCGI) delegation was arriving at the Ministry of Labour, the CLO was driving out of the office compound. The delegation was in my car; the CLO knows my car but he did not stop to say anything.
We expressed surprise among ourselves that he would be leaving at that time when he had a 1 o’clock meeting. The union’s delegation arrived about two minutes later.
We spoke to his secretary who said that he will be back “just now.”
Both delegations retired to the boardroom to await the CLO. After about ten minutes we enquired for the Deputy CLO and Assistant CLO but were told that they were not in office. At 1.20 pm the company left.
The CLO claimed that he had a meeting with ILO officials which ended at 12.50 pm and he left with the ILO officials. This is not factual, he left just about 1 pm and no one was in his vehicle and there was no other vehicle leaving with him.
He claimed that he returned at 1.20 pm (my information is that he returned at 1.40 pm) and enquired of his staff whether they had informed the representatives that he would be back shortly. What does shortly mean – five, ten minutes, an hour, what?
Now for his bombshell: this senior public servant who is supposed to be responsible fixed a meeting but is absent with no one to deputise but had the audacity to deem the BCGI officials’ departure “disrespectful” and the union’s statement about him being a no show as “dishonest.” What arrogance.
He does not feel it necessary to apologise for his absence for whatever reason, but rather, stigmatized the parties.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Akeel
