By Patrick Yarde, President GPSU
The United Nation has designated June 23rd each year to mark the occasion of Public Service Day. This date was specifically occasioned to bring recognition to and celebrate the values, virtues and visibility of public service, to the community; the delivery of quality public service in the development process and recognizes that democracy and successful governance are built on the foundation of a competent and professional public service.
June 23rd was also identified by the United Nations for the reason that it coincided with the anniversary when the International Labour Organization adopted Convention 151 – Labour Relations (Public Service) 1978. This Convention determines the framework for working conditions of all civil servants across the world.

Public Service Day 2020 celebration is centered around the theme:  ‘Action Today, Impact Tomorrow: Innovating and Transforming Public Services and Institutions to Realize the Sustainable Development Goals 2030”.

Public Service Day 2020 would be celebrated under a contagion of enormous proportions, as the coronavirus continues to affect lives worldwide, health care systems are left strained, the education and school systems are disrupted and businesses and economies are uncertain about sustainability in the future. Combating the aftermath demands an approach grounded in technology, boundary-breaking collaboration and innovative ways of working. Public Service organizations would need to find and adapt critical solutions that are flexible and robust to the new reality. This will be a turning point for government. A time to build even more meaningful, trust-based relationships with the citizen.

In transitioning to the new environment, the International Labour Organization’s standards can serve as a decent work compass in the response to the COVID 19 health and social crisis.  The key provisions of these standards particularly, as it relates to safety and health working arrangements, protection of specific categories of workers, non-discrimination, social security and employment protection, would ensure that governments, employers and Unions (workers’ representatives) can maintain decent work while adjusting to the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic.

The socio-economic response, recovery and spending must not come at the expense of workers and stagnation in the public service where workers are faced with inadequate or frozen wages, rising cost of living and austerity guttered public sector.

The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) wishes to encourage all workers to be safe; to adopt to the new ways, contexts, technology and digital/virtual capabilities available to ensure smart and safe work. The Union is in the vanguard negotiating appropriate measures to national conditions, where necessary, to encourage and promote the full development and utilization of machinery for negotiation of terms and conditions of employment for workers nationally. The social and mental health of workers is of paramount interest to the Union and therefore workers are encouraged to put health and security first.

At the international level the GPSU has been involved and contributed to the development of new techniques and strategies to confront all these challenges, including climate change and effective strategies to mitigate its adverse effects on workers; that training and retraining of all categories workers in an effort of just transition. The Union further wishes to encourage all workers to keep themselves relevant, to adopt safe and healthy practices in light of the new and changing world of work.

The Guyana Public Service Union salutes all public service workers on this Public Service Day 2020 for their sterling contribution to the nation’s progress, despite the prevailing inadequacies, and urge them to continue to deliver, in an efficient and professionalism manner, quality public service to the nation. You are also encouraged, particularly in the prevailing environment of political instability, to be steadfast in the execution of your duties and to understand that your roles and functions must be consistent with the policy framework of public institutions.