MEMBERS of Parliament (MPs), including Speaker of the House, Mr. Raphael Trotman, hosted a Staff Appreciation Day for the Parliament Office employees on Monday.

The second such event since Trotman took over the Chair, was held at the Thirst Park Ground, Ruimveldt, Georgetown and MPs from both Government and Opposition were in the gathering.
The Speaker told the Guyana Chronicle that there is a need for such getting together, given the amount of hard work that is put in by the Parliament staff round the clock.
He said their working time is even doubled whenever there are sittings of the National Assembly and more, recently, the budget debate.
Trotman said, for the years he has been in Parliament, he interacted with the staffers but, after becoming Speaker, he has gotten an even better understanding of how they perform and the necessity for such occasions.
According to him, the Staff Appreciation Day, which involves games and interaction, is aimed at being one where MPs and staffers blend as one and on the same level, with no superiority.
Trotman said his wish is to see more MPs attend the occasion next year, although he acknowledged that the 2013 turnout was larger than last year.