MINISTER within the Ministry of Social Protection has laid down the law on workers’ rights. The minister yesterday led a team that inspected Barama Buck Hall operations.According to the minister, the Government will demand that employees are given the required protective gear, a working environment that is conducive to production and workers’ safety, and that workers are fairly compensated.
The visit is part of the ministry’s ongoing visits to workplaces countrywide, ensuring that employers operate within the laws as they relate to the welfare of their employees. Chief Labour, Occupational Safety and Health Officer Charles Ogle, Deputy Lydia Greene, Senior Officer Karen Vansluytman-Corbin, and other staff of the ministry’s Inspection Department accompanied the minister.
During her engagement with the management of Barama operations, prior to touring the complex and interacting with workers, Minster Broomes explained that the Government is concerned about the conditions workers countrywide are made to endure, and it is against this background that the ministry is conducting inspections of workplaces. The inspections are to ensure that working environments are up to standard and operate within the ambit of the law.
Broomes told the managers that her ministry received several complaints from employees of the company hence the visit to interact with them so that the complaints can be addressed. The managers were briefed on the details of the complaints by the minister’s team and they have since committed to immediately implementing measures to address these.
One of the main concerns raised by the workers during their interaction with the minster was the need for a wage increase. The Minister explained that this is being addressed as extensive deliberations were held with the managers.
“I must say from the outset, in terms of management and how we were allowed to examine and make corrections, I am really pleased about that,” Minister Broomes said. The minister was also able to address the quality of food provided for workers and safety and protective gear.

Meanwhile, the minister said her ministry will be re-examining some of the policies pertaining to workers rights and benefits and how these are being implemented and executed by some companies, since some companies have internal policies and procedures that are in breach of the law.
“I am charged with a mandate to ensure that there is maximum compliance. The President did caution me that he doesn’t want to hear of one death and I hold the same position. One death is too many; and accidents, we have to eliminate them. The fairness of workers’ wages, the hours they work and all of that will be examined,” Minister Broomes asserted.
The ministry’s policy is that when workers are being unfairly treated, in terms of benefits, wages and salaries, management must immediately address these.
“When it comes to workers and their rights, there is no breathing space for correction, you have to correct immediately…if you have the workers working 12 hours and the law says eight hours, you have to correct that immediately, if the law speaks to overtime, you have to apply that,” the minister advised.
The minister advises workers in factories, especially those in the industrial sector, to ensure that they wear protective gear at all times, as this is crucial to their work.
“The Government values the workers’ contributions to the development of Guyana, we will definitely ensure that their rights are being protected,” she committed.
Labour inspection is an essential part of the labour administration system, exercising the fundamental function of labour law enforcement and effective compliance. It ensures fairness in the workplace and helps promote economic development. This is the premise on which the Ministry of Labour’s Occupational Safety and Health Department functions.