The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has scheduled a meeting today following alleged complaints by its members regarding the Interim Management Committee’s (IMC) management of the Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union (GPSCCU).
The meeting is scheduled to take place today from 4:45pm at the GPSU’s headquarters, located at 160 Regent and Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown.
Reading from a prepared statement, First Vice-President of the GPSU, Dawn Gardener, during a press conference, said the union has recognized the need for urgent attention to a number of genuine complaints that it has received from members of the GPSCCU, who are also members of the GPSU.
“The GPSU considers the complaints to be serious given that the challenges faced by members affect them economically, because of the onerous measures imposed upon them by the Interim Management Committee (IMC) and management installed by the purported Chief Cooperatives Development Officer (CCDO), Ministry of Social Protection,” Gardener read.
These issues allegedly include members of the GPSCCU having to wait two to three days to receive withdrawals from their special savings, and members from out of town having been made to travel repeatedly to Georgetown when trying to apply for and access loans.
Additionally, even after enduring “burdensome measures,” it was said that some members are ultimately being denied loans. These issues have reportedly resulted in some members signaling their intention to resign from the credit union, even though the GPSU has allegedly, on numerous occasions, tried to encourage them against this option.
“These experiences have resulted from the backward action taken, which apart from being unenlightened are also insensitive to the circumstances of members. Because the GPSU is well aware of members’ dependency on their savings and other benefits, a decision has been taken to facilitate a meeting with all members of the GPSCCU who are bona fide members of the GPSU to address the complaints received and the way forward,” the First Vice President further disclosed.
Chairperson of the IMC, Trevor Benn, in an invited comment, suggested that the union is creating issues where there are none as they have not received any complaints of persons not being able to access their monies.
Additionally, he noted that staff at the Credit Union have been working assiduously to ensure that its members are priority.
He also noted that they are expected to pay members an interim dividend sometime next month, something that has not been done since 2010.
Notwithstanding, he encouraged the GPSU to have its meeting, while reiterating the suggestion that it is just a matter of the GPSU no longer tapping the power of the credit union and as such they are raising allegations where there are none.
“The people earned and deserve their monies,” Benn added.
Meanwhile, President of the GPSU, Patrick Yarde, who also attended the press conference, had explained that a decision was made to adopt a trade union approach, where they will wait to hear from their members on what the issues are before contacting management, which in this case, happens to be the IMC.
“We have adopted a trade union approach of how we deal with this matter; the process is one where, when people come to complain, we navigate them to come in and discuss. When we are satisfied with that, then we will take the step to go to the manager or whoever so we are now at that stage tomorrow where members presents their complaints and once we are satisfied that the grievances or that there is sufficient evidence there to recognize that there are levels of legitimacy… then we will determine the next step,” Yarde said.
