See below a statement issued on Tuesday by the Guyana Press Association (GPA)

STATEMENT RE OUTCOME OF MEETING WITH NCN RE MS NATASHA SMITH AND MRS JOCELLE ARCHIBALD-HAWKE

On Saturday September 3, the Guyana Press Association (GPA) formally requested a meeting with the CEO of state broadcaster NCN after we received the following reports:

1. That Sports Editor Jocelle Archibald-Hawke was suspended on August 31, 2016 for a period of one month, without pay, over comments she made against a colleague on Facebook.
2. That at a meeting on August 8, 2016, the CEO instructed that Ms Natasha Smith be removed from the anchor’s chair because of her pregnancy and her appearance did not suit the new image NCN was seeking to create.

The CEO agreed to meet with the executives of the GPA at 13:30 hrs today, September 6, 2016.

The GPA was represented at the meeting by President Neil Marks, Secretary Iva Wharton, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer Fareeza Haniff and Executive Member Nazima Raghubir. NCN was represented by its CEO Lennox Cornette, Human Resources Manager Tishika De Costa and Programme Manager Ron Robinson.

Mrs Jocelle Archibald-Hawke

The GPA urged Mr Cornette and his executives to immediately rescind the suspension of Mrs Archibald-Hawke on the following grounds:

1. Mrs Archibald-Hawke was never reprimanded by the company over her comments on social media
2. NO Social Media Policy exists at NCN from which any sanction can be imposed against staff
3. NCN took disciplinary action on the ground that the apology which was demanded of her by management was not to the satisfaction of the aggrieved employee in question rather than to management’s satisfaction
4. Management did not at any time seek to engage Mrs Archibald-Hawke and the aggrieved employee, together, to discuss the issue and resolve it in an amicable manner

Mr Cornette argued that the action taken against Mrs Archibald-Hawke was not only because of what she said about a colleague on Facebook, but about previous infractions management perceived, again many of which are not rooted in management directives or policy at NCN.

The GPA argued that the sole reason given for Mrs Archibald-Hawke’s suspension was the issue of her comments on Facebook. We maintained that the suspension was harsh and needed to be rescinded.

The CEO gave no undertaking to review the decision, but noted the GPA’s demand.

It is useful to note that despite the CEO’s claims of previous infractions by Mrs Archibald-Hawke, it was only about a month ago the Human Resources Department approved her gratuity in full, indicating no issues with her performance on the job.

THE GPA is left to no other conclusion than that the management of NCN is instituting willy-nilly sanctions against employees without these being grounded on any stated management directive or policy. We urge that this practice be discontinued forthwith.

The GPA will be pursuing all avenues possible to have the suspension against Mrs Archibald-Hawke rescinded.

Ms Natasha Smith

The CEO denied that he at any time passed a directive to Ms Smith to be replaced as the anchor of NCN’s evening news programme because of her pregnancy.

However, the GPA managed to secure a copy of the minutes of the August 8, 2016 management meeting. The discussion centered on the production of a news montage. The minutes read thus: “With regards to this, the CEO stated that the anchor and wardrobe should coincide with the montage. However, given the present condition of Ms. Natasha Smith, the CEO asked that a tight shot be done to remedy the view….”

Following that discussion, the CEO recommended that Ms Smith be replaced. All the senior executives of NCN that the GPA has spoken with have said they understood Mr Cornette to be speaking of Ms Smith’s pregnancy and that decision was communicated to her.

As noted above, Mr Cornette denied that he issued any such directive. As such, the GPA was able to secure the CEO’s undertaking to have Ms Smith returned to the anchor chair with immediate effect.

Following our meeting, Ms Smith has indicated that the Human Resources Manager approached her and apologised, and asked her to return to anchoring. Ms Smith has indicated to the GPA that she is ready to do so.

The GPA takes this opportunity to congratulate  Miss Smith and Ms Archibald-Hawke in bringing these concerns to their association and cooperating fully in seeking to resolve them. We call on all members of the media to keep their association abreast of poor industrial relations practices at their places of work and not only to be vigilant against such acts in other workplaces.

As the state broadcaster, which is heavily funded by tax payers, NCN has an obligation to uphold the highest tenets of industrial relations practices, including providing equal opportunity and ensuring freedom from harassment, intimidation and discrimination.

By way of this statement, the GPA hereby issues a call for the intervention of the Chairman and Board of Directors of NCN and the Office of the Prime Minister to look into the operations of NCN.