Former Corporate Communications Officer at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Audreyanna Thomas, whose service was abruptly terminated by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, has launched a programme to provide economic and psychosocial support to other public service workers whose contracts were terminated by the Government over the last few months.
The programme, ‘Next Level Support Network’ is being implemented by the Global Perspective Inc. (GPI), a registered company operating since 2007 which has worked on over 50 projects with various organisations, both local and international.
Thomas took a break in 2016 when she went to work at GuySuCo but plans to rededicate her time to the company and the new programme which sets out to act on the injustices she believes were meted out by the current Government.
The aim of the ‘Next Level Support Network’ is to assist persons affected in determining the next level in their career and life, as well as to advocate for the review of employment laws and policies. It will work to create a forum that provides psychosocial support to persons whose services were terminated from the public sector over the past months. It will also work to determine levels of economic support required; to explore possibilities for alternative future employment, and to advocate for changes in employment laws and policies.
“Having had the experience of being fired and the way in which it was done I am now using my trials for triumph and I realised that there are so many people out there who are experiencing what I’m experiencing,” she said.
Thomas will pull experience from the Sustainable and Resilient Communities programme strategy she developed while at GuySuCo for persons who were being laid off. Some of the activities will include an assessment or survey to determine the number of persons or professionals whose services were terminated over the past months; areas of expertise and levels of positions; areas of job or professional interest; areas of interest for reskilling those persons; forums to provide psychosocial support and organizing economic support and training.
Persons who are interested in participating in the ‘Next Level Support Network’ are invited to contact: Audreyanna Thomas, Coordinator (Volunteer), Global Perspective Inc. at email address: iamguyana2020@yahoo.com. Persons in public sector agencies also concerned about losing their employment and are interested in participating in the programme are also invited.
