THE Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) celebrated its 97th anniversary on Sunday (June 7, 2020), and is committed to its theme, “Continuing the Journey for Social Justice – in Unity we can achieve.”

President of the GPSU Patrick Yarde, in a press statement on the occasion, said: “Our fight is to restore and enhance the strength of our organisation and promote the well-being and welfare of our members and by so doing, provide a basis for the development of our communities and our nation. This would require the involvement of every member – all of our union branches must function efficiently; all of our members’ grievances must be represented; we must expand our membership base; we must ensure that our membership education programme is refined, relevant and accessible.”

Further, he stated that the organisation is committed to working to overcome the hurdles ahead, stating that although the organisation was met with setbacks in 2019, that will not stop the leadership from continuing to pursue much-deserved benefits for its members.

Yarde further highlighted some of what the GPSU was able to achieve within the last year, mentioning that it was able to formally finalise and sign the Recognition Agreement to represent staff of the Guyana Revenue Authority. He related that although the process had taken some 20 years to complete, that shows the commitment of the GPSU to facilitating its members’ needs.

“We must advance our mission, starting with the identification of all that hinders progress and the accomplishment of our noble goals, and remove all evils that are being promoted to deter us from our achievements. We must at the same time enlighten those who are not conscious of the virtues and values of our purpose and build confidence in those who are feeling insecure and uncertain of their decency, high moral standards, goodness and righteousness.”

Yarde stated that in this present historical moment in the country’s history, the GPSU believes it is of utmost importance that it must take all possible measures to protect its members and the health and well-being of citizens and will work to ensure that the side effects of these undesirables do not compromise its targeted goals.

Further, Yarde explained some of the plans that the GPSU has for the year, saying, “We must restore our Sports Complex facilities to its former glory to provide necessary healthy recreation exposure for our members, their families and acquaintances by all means necessary, including seeking the fulfilment of the agreements entered into with the current government.

“We must vigorously demand, as a major stakeholder, that there is respect for inclusiveness. We must never give way to increasing political attempts to undermine and replace the leadership of our union with misfits to compromise the union’s effectiveness and to keep our members vulnerable.”