I do not think that the Minister of Labour’s comments as regards lowering the age that children are allowed to work is as bad as it is being made out.
Culture of misleading the Guyanese public must cease Of course there will be provisions in place and certain stipulations that will govern when and how early teenage children can be employed and in what capacity.

This culture of misleading the Guyanese public that many people in leadership positions have in Guyana must cease; and instead they should seek to educate people on the facts of situations while thinking with their heads and not through blind ignorance and promoting their own selfish agendas.

Mr. Nadir is a parent I am sure and a respected individual within this country and I am certain that he would not propose a situation where children are exploited and/or put at risk. No sane thinking person would propose such a situation and I am confident that the strict guidelines that he has set out following his announcement of his proposed amendment will be put in place and anyone in contravention of these will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Further, I cannot see how it would hurt a teenage child to earn extra pocket money; and this is being done in several countries and I think with certain structures in place it can be successfully replicated here in Guyana.

Another sore point of many individuals is that the child will be forced into the position of breadwinner for their families while not being allowed a formal education if such a thing is allowed. I have seen first hand the work that Social Workers and other officers of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security have done over the years to stamp out this scourge in many of our outlying villages and it is one that is still very much in place today; and I am also confident that the Ministers of both Ministries, namely Labour and Human Services and Social Security, will continue to collaborate in this regard.

I also support a countrywide public discussion on this issue, so that the voices of the people can be heard; and their concerns intelligently addressed and put to rest instead of allowing some sections of the country to use this innocent proposal for their own political gain, festering further resentment of every governmental intervention regardless of its merits.