20 NEWS
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2020| GUYANATIMESGY.COM
ExxonMobil, other agencies Taxi driver jailed for continue oil spill response readiness fondling young girl sponse plan ready well before a well is drilled. The exercise and previous ones such as the regional response exercise in August of 2019, ensure that while we prevent and prepare, employees and relevant agencies are able to practice.
Mitigating risks
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A section of participants during the ICS training exercise at the Pegasus Hotel
s part of its ongoing efforts to ensure enhanced capacity to respond to an oil spill, ExxonMobil Guyana has staged another training exercise for employees and relevant stakeholder agencies. The response drill was the culmination of a threeday training course on the Incident Command System, a standardised on-scene, allrisk incident management structure. ExxonMobil Guyana employees and contractors were joined by representatives from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Maritime Administration (MARAD), Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy in an all-day simulation exercise. The exercise provided participants with the oppor-
tunity to perform and execute current response management concepts and procedures detailed in ExxonMobil Guyana’s Oil Spill Response Plan. Captain Salim October, CDC operations and training officer noted that participation in such exercises tests the readiness of the CDC and related agencies to respond to an oil spill – should this become a reality. “It is critical that we engage in these preparatory exercises that help to enhance our capabilities and skills to execute the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan. We have to anticipate issues and problems and work them out in a framework of support and learning. Prior to this exercise, we’ve been involved in others led by a number of operators including ExxonMobil. We’ve benefitted
from industry-specific training which includes deployment of oil spill equipment, Incident Command Systems and Risk Communication among a number of other topics,” Captain October said. He added that participation in these types of exercises helps the CDC, which is the national coordinating body in the event of an emergency to understand the capacity of the various governmental agencies in order to identify existing gaps. ExxonMobil stated that it is committed to conducting its operations in a safe and environmentally responsible manner and preventing a spill is a top priority. As such, the company has ensured that all necessary preventative measures are in place. The company further highlighted that it is important to have an emergency re-
Moreover, as part of the EIA process for various projects, ExxonMobil Guyana had undertaken studies to understand Guyana’s Physical, Biological, and Socioeconomic Resources. These baseline studies and others allow us to identify potential risks and ensure the appropriate mitigations are in place. These include a turtle-tagging and telemetry programme, a fish study through which several new species were discovered, nine marine bird surveys and an extensive Ecosystem Services Study along Guyana’s coastline from the Barima-Waini (Region 1) to the East Berbice-Corentyne (Region 6) involving more than 700 community leaders. The studies were conducted by Guyanese and international experts who participated in an ‘open house’ at the Pegasus Hotel in September 2019. They shared the findings of the studies and were available to answer all related questions and concerns from participants who were mostly students from the University of Guyana. The findings of the various studies have been submitted to the EPA.
Jailed for sexual assault: Rishi Seepersaud
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orty-one-year-old Rishi Seepersaud of Station Street, Kitty, Georgetown, was on Friday found guilty and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for sexual assault by city Magistrate Sherdel Marcus-Isaacs when he made anoth-
er appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. Seepersaud was found guilty of the offence during
a trial heard by Magistrate Marcus-Isaacs. The accused had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that on September 8, 2018, at McDoom Public Road, East Bank Demerara, he engaged in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16 years old. Reports are that on the day in question, the minor was a backseat passenger in the defendant’s car when he stretched out his hand and touched her inappropriately. The victim, after being dropped off at her home, related what had occurred to her parents who then reported the matter to the police.
GAWU renews calls for retroactive payment for sugar workers …GuySuCo to consider new proposal
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fter a protest action that yielded little result, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) and GuySuCo met on Friday to continue negotiations for sugar workers’ salary increases to be retroactive as of January 2019. According to GAWU, this is the tenth time both parties are meeting to hammer out issues relating to retroactive salaries for the workers and as such, the Union has proposed measures to come to a consensus. “During the engagement, the Union suggested that the Corporation examine settling the retroactive payments to sugar workers through several instalments in 2020. We put forward that a reasonable timetable could be agreed to between the Union and the Corporation.” GAWU is contending that its suggestion for retroactive salary for 2019 has not been taken serious-
ly given the fact that the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL) has been selling prime land. In fact, on Thursday NICIL turned the sod for the sprawling Windsor Estate located at formerly Sugar Plantation Ogle at a budget of US$83 million, as such, GAWU noted that monies from these lands can assist with the payment for sugar workers. “We also drew to the Corporation’s attention that its land was being sold by NICIL, at high costs, and representation should be furthered to obtain support to offset the payments to the workers. The GuySuCo team undertook to share our proposal with the management before meeting again sometime in the coming week,” GAWU outlined. Moreover, the Union stated that the Corporation used the meeting to bash them for the protest action taken on Tuesday last outside of the Ministry of the
Presidency. “The Corporation also used the meeting to apparently criticise the workers’ protests on February 25, 2020. The workers of the Blairmont factory were particularly singled out and it appeared to us that the GuySuCo was seeking to determine when, and possibly if, workers could strike. The Union further added that “we had to point out to GuySuCo that the workers, with the intent of safeguarding the Corporation’s assets, and out of an abundance of caution and concern, proceeded to properly bring operations of the Blairmont factory to a halt. Notwithstanding what we felt was a cogent explanation, the Corporation’s team, surprisingly, informed they could not accept the explanation.” Moreover, “It appears to us that the Corporation would want a situation where the workers vacate their posts and allow the situation to go awry. This,
Sugar workers during a protest on Tuesday last in front of the MotP
of course, is not a position our Union and the workers could condone nor uphold. The workers’ right to take part in protest actions is upheld by the Constitution. We do not believe that the GuySuCo, more so as a State-owned organisation, should seek to constrict or constrain this important worker right or any right of the workers for that mat-
ter.” GAWU stated while noting that the Union will go to all lengths and breadths to ensure that their demands are met. To this end, the Union underscored that the sugar workers just want to be treated like all other public servants who were able to benefit from a retroactive salary increase last year. “We believed that the
workers of Blairmont, like all workers, demonstrated a high degree of responsibility and only are seeking to be treated like their colleagues elsewhere in the State. They are not asking for special or unique treatment and the apparent decrying of their principled and justifiable actions is upsetting for us.”
