By Svetlana Marshall

THE Guyana Press Association (GPA) has called out the National Communications Network (NCN) for harassing and intimidating its employees, particularly News Anchor Natasha Smith and Sports Editor Jocelle Archibald-Hawke. In a strongly worded statement, the GPA said it is disturbed by the farcical, inhumane and degrading positions and actions being taken by state broadcaster NCN against its employees.
The association said while it was satisfied that Smith had returned to the anchor’s chair after being removed due to her pregnancy, it was appalled to learn that NCN’s management had asked the news anchor to withdraw her statement.
It was explained that Smith was summoned to a meeting in the presence of a consultant, namely Abraham Poole, Monday last to again address the issue.
During that meeting, the NCN management again denied that Smith was removed from anchoring the news because of her pregnancy by this time suggesting that her clothing was “too tight”.
“Further, callously, Smith was asked if she would be willing to retract her statement given the ‘explanation’ she was given,” the GPA added.
In addition, the news anchor was asked to disclose the names of the managers who had informed her of the CEO’s decision. While saluting Smith for refusing to withdraw her statement of the events that followed the August 8, 2016 Board Meeting, the GPA said it was sickened by the actions of those at the helm of the State-run agency.
“The GPA is disgusted that Ms Smith continues to be subjected to this sort of harassment and stress over an issue we thought was over with. The matter has long been established, as outlined above, that Ms Smith was removed because of her pregnancy and NCN’s latest attempt to resurrect the issue by dragging Ms Smith into the ugly episode she has been enduring for the past two months to seek to exonerate itself is most inexcusable,” the GPA stated.
The association added: “If NCN wants to do damage control, it would do well by not seeking to intimidate and harangue Ms Smith during this crucial time of her pregnancy.”
On her Facebook page, Smith said: “I am in labour, my baby is four weeks premature thanks to all this crap…. I know that I have a 50 /50 chance that’s why this is no time to shut up about thus … tired (of) playing nice…BTW (by the way) I won’t be surprised if I’m fired for this.”
Meanwhile, in addressing the matter surrounding Archibald-Hawke, the GPA supports her decision not to attend NCN’s management meetings without a representative of the Clerical & Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU).
“NCN’s statement Wednesday that it was the company’s ‘compassion’ that caused it to review the one-month suspension against Mrs Archibald-Hawke is most unfortunate. NCN should desist from flaunting lofty principles it is failing so miserably at by breaching workers’ fundamental rights,” the association posited.
“NCN can go to the moon and back about why Mrs Archibald-Hawke was suspended; the fact remains that Mrs Archibald-Hawke was suspended solely on the grounds of a post she made on social media against another colleague; NCN should therefore drop the hogwash about her past record,” the GPA added.
Over the more than nine years of service at NCN, Archibald-Hawke received an excellent performance rating. Just before she was suspended, she received her gratuity in full. “It was clear that whatever may have been management’s grouse with her in the past were never considerations for disciplinary action and by suggesting that her suspension had anything to do with her past infractions is disingenuous and an attempt to discredit her character and work, and to drag her through the mud,” GPA is maintaining.
GPA has once again issued 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