Workers’ rights robustly defended, protected – AG
Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams
Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams

THE Government will continue to safeguard Guyana’s Labour Force against any attempt to trample on the rights of workers, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams, said on Wednesday.

In his address to hundreds of public and private sector workers at 2019 Labour Day Rally at the National Park, Minister Williams, who represented Government, said the Administration remains resolute in its position, and will continue to institute policies to benefit the working class.

“Workers’ rights are being robustly defended and protected.

The country’s labour laws, including union recognition laws, are being enforced to ensure that workers are not exploited or subject to arbitrary dismissals,” Minister Williams said to loud rounds of applause.
Workers, in the public service, including teachers, have benefited from substantial increases since the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government took office in May, 2015, he said. “Wages and salaries of our Public Servants have increased by over 62 per cent since we came into office; teachers by even more since they were beneficial negotiations by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) on their behalf,” the Legal Affairs Minister pointed out.

Added to that, he said workers’ standards of living are being enhanced, and inflation moderated to avoid eroding workers’ purchasing power. Public services – business services, education, electricity, immigration, justice, public health, housing, public information, public infrastructure, public security, public telecommunication, social security and water also are being extended across the country as part of Government’s efforts to reduce inequality and improve workers’ lives.

In its quest to improve the country’s economic landscape, the Government has been encouraging investments, Minister Williams said while explaining that investments more than often create opportunities for employment. “An expanded economy creates greater demand for goods and services which in turn stimulates job-creation,” he posited. Minister Williams said job creation remains a priority of Government, and, as such, steps are continuously taken to stimulate greater job creation.

Because the public sector could only absorb a percentage of the unemployed, the Government, in addition to encouraging large scale investments in the country, has been placing emphasis on the development of small business and entrepreneurship.

Government, he posited, has been stimulating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for 70 per cent of global employment, by providing training and seed capital through initiatives such as the Micro and Small Enterprise Development (MSED), Hinterland Employment and Youth Scheme (HEYS), Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED), Women of Worth (WOW) and People of Worth Entrepreneurial Resources (POWER) AND THE Linden Enterprise Network (LEN).
“The revitalization of village economies will stimulate greater job creation. Village farms will require additional hands to produce more abundant fruit, vegetables, provisions and other cash crops. The revival of cottage industries will provide sources of income for residents, especially our women,” Minister Williams explained. According to him, with the revival of the cottage industries, tradesmen – carpenters, cabinet-makers, gutter-smiths, masons, painters, plumbers and tailors – will experience an increasing demand for their goods and services.

PPP/C Member of Parliament Vickram Bharrat
Photo: Adrian Narine Photos

Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), he added, is geared towards generating increased employment by moving production higher up the value chain through the creation of ‘green’ industries and ‘green’ jobs. “Guyana’s emergent oil and gas sectors will provide a catalyst for increased job creation,” Legal Affairs Minister told those present, while alluding to a report coming out of the Department of Energy, that already 1000 persons have benefited directly from the Oil and Gas Sector. “The returns to the Guyanese people from this sector are expected to increase exponentially in light of our 5 ½ billion barrels of proven oil reserves and this figure does not include the last three oil well discoveries,” he added.

As Guyana develops its Oil and Gas Sector, the Legal Affairs Minister challenged the Trade Unions to not only defend the rights of workers but to provide capacity building opportunities that will enable workers to respond effectively to the emerging sector. “Trade Unions must be cognizant of the changing labour landscape and look to the reorganisation of the workforce through education. The advent of the oil and has era, the Green State agenda and the STEM and Robotics disciplines would require our workforce to adapt. Emphasis must be placed on changing and upgrading the skillset of the workers,” he urged.

Minister Williams told the workers that they ought to be proud of the labour movement in the country. He pointed out that it was the workers struggle which reignited the struggles for national liberation. “Workers and the trade union movement supported the struggles for universal franchise, political independence, union recognition and improvements in workers’ compensation, benefits and living conditions,” he said.

Member of Parliament Vickram Bharrat, who represented the Parliamentary Opposition, told the workers that May Day presented an opportunity for them to rally in solidarity for their invaluable contributions to national development.

“Today, we celebrate the contributions of our workers, a country’s most important resource. Today, we recognise the hardworking men and women who have made significant sacrifices under trying conditions to forge national development,” Bharrat told the workers.

He said regardless who is in power, the significant strides made over the years cannot be denied. Bharrat noted that the recent challenges that faced the country’s teachers, bauxite and sugar workers can neither be forgotten as he underscored the importance of every worker. The unions, he posited, must remain a vibrant force.

“Friends, at this critical juncture in the history of our country, workers need visionary leadership and purposeful representation from their respective unions – It is time Unions stop playing politics with the lives and livelihood of our hardworking Guyanese brothers and sisters. It is time workers are respected for their efforts and sacrifices and not used as pawns by politically affiliated union, Government or political parties,” the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Parliamentarian said.

Like the Legal Affairs Minister, Bharrat also underscored the importance of training to stay abreast with technology and other developing sectors. He pointed out that in many countries around the world technology has rendered thousands of workers redundant – a situation that contributed to unemployment.

Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally; Minister of Public Service, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley; Minister within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for Housing, Annette Ferguson; Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings and Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott were among the Government officials that attended the rally.

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