The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, in keeping with President Bharrat Jagdeo’s promise to offer computer classes to the laid-off Barama workers, in exchange for a stipend of $25,000 per month, commenced these classes yesterday. The initiative is costing the Government over $30 million and Cabinet will be approaching the National Assembly for a supplementary provision to cover the cost of the training and the stipend.
Training took place at the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (COIG) on Woolford Avenue and at the Eccles Youth Training Centre, Eccles, East Bank Demerara, catering for the first batch of laid-off Barama workers.
Speaking at the commencement of the training, Minister Manzoor Nadir said that the workers must attend the training for three hours a day, one day per week, in order to receive the $25,000 stipend and the $5,000 transportation allowance. According to the Minister, the workers must sign the attendance sheet, which will be the only means of verifying their attendance at the classes.
The Minister asked the workers to attend the classes on their scheduled days and to be on time. He also explored the possibility of speeding up the classes so that the workers will get their stipend before Christmas.
Chief Executive Director of the Board of Industrial Training, Alana Brassington, said the training that the workers receive is a chance for them to access higher-paying jobs.
On November 1, at a meeting at the Guyana International Conference Centre, President Jagdeo announced that Government will offer $25,000 per worker per month for three months, on condition that the worker attends one day of classes a week. The training is coinciding with the soon-to-be launched One Laptop per Family initiative which aims to ready Guyana’s population for the information technology age.
At the commencement of the training, the workers had a chance to seek clarification and ask questions. One of the workers who live on the East Coast told the Minister that by some happenstance, she was asked to attend the training in Eccles on the East Bank. But the Minister there and then asked the staff to ensure that the woman is signed up to attend the CIOG facility, making it easier for her in terms of transportation expenses.