– as labour workshop opens
MINISTER of Labour  Mr. Manzoor Nadir is encouraging the private sector to establish flexible work hours which, he said,  is a necessity in the advancement of gender equality.

Minister Nadir explained that women are caught between work at the office and obligations at home which can hinder productivity and output.

He was speaking at the opening of a three-day workshop on strategic planning with a gender perspective held at the Pegasus Hotel on Monday.

The workshop, which ends today, is organised by the Organisation of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Commission on Women (CIM), the Ministry of Labour, CARICOM  and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The Labour Minister told the gathering that labour is not only about resolving industrial disputes but is an important factor of production, even comparable to entrepreneurial skills.
Minister Nadir noted that employees must ensure, not only that tasks are completed, but that maximum output and optimal production is achieved.
“We must ensure that every member of the employable workforce can give us the best productivity and output.”
He added that throughout the Caribbean, participation of women in the workforce has been key to increased productivity.

In Guyana, less than 50 percent of employed women are not formally in the workforce and those who are, continue in a specific type of employment.
A United Kingdom study entitled, “Lift and Ladders” advocates that not only should data be collected but it must also be analysed to unearth the real issue behind the figures.
The Labour Ministry has been compiling its annual Labour Market Information and Hours of Work Survey which indicates that women are dominating in several areas of employment.
Minister Nadir listed banking, telecommunications, textile retail, and public service as some of the lead employment agencies of women.
He hinted that in another few years, men may become endangered in the legal and medical fraternities.
Due to the fact that a significant percentage of the population is single parent women, government has established a programme to assist them and has spent $25M to provide them with tools of their trade.
Locally, 38 percent of youths fail to complete formal schooling and the majority of these are men.
In this regard, the ministry has set up the National Training Programme for Youth Empowerment (NTPYE) which offers a technical education to early school leavers.
Minister Nadir detailed that government provides eight times more than what the donor community offers to second-chance learners.
He urged employers to provide women with access to the workforce, control over economic resources, improved working conditions and flexible hours of work.
The Caribbean has a fine tradition of progressive policy and legislation dealing with equal pay, training, education and micro-credit for women as well as a wealth of academic literature.
The workshop which ends today,  will give focus to issues such as advancing gender equality, women in the workplace, decent work framework and non-discrimination.  (GINA)