Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips recently congratulated the staff of the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) for their dedication to service in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and assured that the corporation would have the continued support of the government.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) release, the Prime Minister made these comments while speaking at a simple ceremony at the GPOC head office in observance of World Post Day.
He noted that while many other categories of workers have been allowed to stay safe at home, postal workers have been bravely facing the risks of COVID-19.
“Delivery of bills, pension payments and other important payments remain a major part of their role country wide, while our 62 post offices across Guyana serve as critical locations for the payment of old age pension, money transfers and other critical services,” Phillips was quoted as saying.
The Prime Minister added that government will continue to support the efforts of the GPOC to ensure that it continues to meet its mandate.
“Our Government is proud of the continued efforts being put in place by the Guyana Post Office Corporation, even at this challenging time, to innovate and offer efficient and reliable services. We are committed to ensuring that the GPOC receives the support that it needs to continue along this progressive path,” he assured.
In her remarks, Post Master General, Karren Brown, said that the GPOC is the largest delivery service in the country with over 500 staff and 62 locations, and that the organisation has had to adapt to working within a COVID-19 environment.
Brown also noted that the GPOC continues to diversify its services in order to adapt to the changes in the industry, “To grow and to meet the challenging demands placed upon us, we recognise that we must continue to adapt our services, packaging and delivery. We continue to look for ways to digitize, provide e-market services and improve our delivery options,” the release added.
Deputy Post Master of the GPOC, Anastasia Lynch, in an earlier interview with Stabroek News, spoke about the measures put in place to address the concerns raised by the delivery staff. She said that through a collaborative effort with the Guyana Postal and Telecommunication Workers Union, they were able to address those issues and put their minds at ease.
Lynch added that as soon as the country recorded its first case of the virus, the organisation began putting measures in place, in order to safeguard its employees by ensuring that they were fully equipped with the necessary essentials, such as face masks. She noted that while the safeguarding of employees came as an un-catered for expense, it was something that needed to be done.
Due to the nature of the work done by the delivery staff, which requires them to interact with the public, Lynch explained that the Post Office has been encouraging all who receive mail to have mailboxes installed, and even more so during the pandemic.
She acknowledged that some have made the effort to have mailboxes installed, but there are still some without which then requires the mail delivery staff to have some amount of interaction with those individuals.
However, Lynch informed this newspaper that staff members are fully equipped physically, as well as with the knowledge on how to protect themselves should a situation arise that unduly exposes them.
She also disclosed, that there has been a decline in the volume of mail since the restricted operations introduced at the international airports.
Nevertheless, she assured that the staff are still engaged in the delivery of domestic mail nation-wide and they manage to do so in a timely manner.
Lynch informed that the closure of airports has in fact impacted the number of parcels coming into Guyana, causing a decline of over 90%. However, she stated that there has been an increase in the corporation’s online shipping service which operates under the name “Swift Shipping”.
At first, Lynch said, their online services had declined, but in June/July it started to increase again.
To the question of measures put in place for customers coming into the building, she emphasised that COVID-19 protocols are enforced and to prevent a buildup of customers in the post office, a phased system is used for persons coming in to uplift packages,
Lynch further disclosed that each post office is equipped with demarcations to remind everyone that they should be 6 feet apart. In addition, sinks, hand sanitisers and plastic barriers have been installed. And while there are challenges, customers are reminded of its importance of these measures especially during the pension-payment periods
She highlighted that during those busy periods when pension is being distributed, in order to have enough manpower on the ground, postmen and women are used to ensure order and adherence to sanitisation measures.
She believes that while postmen and women have concerns about the virus just like everyone else, the sensitisation that has been going on in the country and more so in the GPOC has helped.
She also added that the corporation was advised that it is not necessary for postmen and women to use a facemask while riding, however it is always to be readily available when needed.
