NCN under fire for asking anchor to retract claim of removal due to pregnancy

The National Communications Network (NCN) is once again facing a call for a review of its operations after purportedly asking anchor Natasha Smith to retract her claim that she was yanked off air because of her pregnancy. The pregnant Smith, who was reportedly called out from a doctor-ordered bed rest to attend a meeting, is now hospitalised and hinted early yesterday morning that she might have gone into labour prematurely four weeks before the baby was due.

However, late last evening sources close to the woman said that she is being monitored by doctors since her pressure is high. The Guyana Press Association (GPA) yesterday roasted NCN over its handling of the cases of Smith and another employee, Jocelle Archibald-Hawke, while maintaining that the network’s management is instituting willy-nilly sanctions that “are not grounded in any stated management directive or policy. We urge that this practice be discontinued forthwith,” the GPA said in a statement.