GOVERNMENT will not tolerate any organisation or group of persons, be it in the private sector or public sector, who violate the rights of workers, said Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Simona Broomes.During an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA), Minister Broomes, who has responsibility for the Department of Labour, made it clear that the Government will not sacrifice workers’ rights to benefit a few. “Be it private or public sector, Guyanese or non- Guyanese, all workers are protected under the International Labour Organization (ILO),” Broomes said.
In this regard, Minister Broomes explained that the Labour Department of the ministry will continue its country-wide inspections to ensure that employers are adhering to the labour laws and are in full compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations at the workplace.

Minister Broomes said there is the burning issue of employers not remitting payments for workers’ National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributions after deducting them from workers’ salaries. The minister explained that the ministry will look at engaging the NIS on the issue and, where it is necessary, persons will be placed before the courts.
To ensure the effective implementation of labour laws, Minister Broomes said she is in the process of reviewing the mining regulations after which consultations will be done with stakeholders. Further, she said that some of the regulations under which workers are protected are very ancient, and the ministry will be reviewing them.
Also, labour officers will be exposed to various aspects of training, especially to deal with inspections in the mining sector, so that they will know what to look for, she said.