In order to provide equitable service of quality standards to the citizenry of Guyana, one must first understand the need to better his own competencies. This was Dr. Richard Van West-Charles’ message to Operations, Sanitation and Sewerage workers during a recent internal meeting at GWI’s Corporate Complex.
The Managing Director encouraged the workers, the majority of whom are male, to hone the skills they possess in their respective areas. Only then, he said, will they be able to move up the ranks and ensure a better service to customers. He added too that feedback from employees on the quality of service in their area is a good indicator if any improvement needed for the rest of the community. Dr. Van West-Charles noted that if as Guyanese we don’t improve our skills, we will be left
behind. He alluded to His Excellency President David Granger’s call for equity among the livelihoods for all Guyanese, on the coast and interior locations.
GWI has held a number of training programmes for the staff and continues to make other opportunities available for them to better their individual skills.
Speaking to the risks associated with the nature of their jobs, the Managing Director told the workers that they make up the company’s most valuable assets and therefore following the correct occupational, health and safety procedures is vital. This includes being attired with the correct gear on the job.
“For the staff going down [in the sewerage system], they have a right to know their limits. Once we set the limits of safety for human health and they ask to see what the results are showing at this point in time before they go down, they have a right to know. And they should know what the limit of relatively minimal risk is.” In this regard, he pointed out that training is critical, in terms of being knowledgeable of what has to happen if a casualty occurs.
“What has to be put in place is mass casualty drills, the management, what is the level that is minimal risk to you, with respect to the gases and the calibration of equipment has to be done with a degree of regularity to know that this equipment is functioning properly”, the Managing Director added.
Dr. Van West-Charles, who was joined by the Executive Director of Human Resources, Management and Development, Mr. Elvis Jordan and other senior managers, also addressed some of the burning concerns of the staff from the two departments.
He used the opportunity to speak to the gathering of men about the issue of domestic violence and call for more social interaction. He encouraged them to be more understanding in their thinking and to resolve their problems at the earliest possible time.