THE Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) has expressed concern over reports that employees’ use of cellular phones during business hours is adversely affecting production and productivity.

The practice also results in loss of man hours and threatens the general safety of the workplace, the organisation lamented.
In a recent press release, GMSA said employees reportedly spend long periods of time chatting, texting and playing computer games during the hours when they should be working.
According to the release, several member companies have informed GMSA that their internal human resources regulations have already addressed the issue, stating that cellular phones should not be utilised during specified hours.
However, the release said the directive is often observed in the breach and employers are concerned that the habit could present situations that affect employees’ safety as well as the integrity of equipment and machinery.
Some company heads said they have successfully enforced ‘no exemption’ policies and have instituted specific compulsory measures for storage of employees’ personal items.
The GMSA Board of Directors has acknowledged that this habit of many employees, not only in the manufacturing and services sectors, would obviously result in lost production time. More importantly, it will affect the quality of end products due, especially, to inattention on the production line.

FAIR COMPETITION
It added that extrapolated, poor quality of Guyana’s manufactured products will hinder the association’s efforts to source international expertise and financing to effectively upgrade its produce and production capacity to international standards and allow them fair competition on Caribbean and world markets.
As such, the GMSA said it is considering several options to deal with what has become a problem in the workplace, since a number of the association’s members have raised the issue seeking a policy solution.
In addition, recent discussions have pointed to indiscriminate use of cellular phones and hand-held radio transmission sets by members of the public in banks and hospitals, despite posted admonitions and warnings that the signals could affect sensitive equipment.
The press release indicated, too, that the Association will, shortly, embark on a special survey to, first, identify the sub-sectors most affected. But, along the way, the GMSA intends to involve other entities and regulatory agencies in a concerted effort to promote implementation of effective cell phone restrictions that will lead to greater efficiency and safety in the work environment and in service institutions.
The GMSA said it is cognisant of the fact that telephones, cellular phones and other instruments of communication are work tools, especially in marketing type operations and at certain levels of business.
However, the call for greater awareness of and adherence to business time restrictions by employees functioning at management and non-management levels is apropos in every factory, service facility and office, GMSA maintained.