— President Granger in Labour Day address

PRESIDENT David Granger has hailed the working people of Guyana as “the nation’s heroes”, more so at a time when the country is manoeuvring through a global crisis.

In a Labour Day message to the nation, the President stated that the working people of Guyana are conducting a courageous campaign against the deadly Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

He said that many, now classified as ‘essential service providers’, have put their self-interests on hold to ensure the safety of all and the smooth flow of business.

Some of the category of workers he named were health care workers – including doctors, nurses, technicians and other medical professionals and the security forces.

The Head of State said that these and other individuals remain on the frontline to prevent the spread of the disease, to protect the population and to provide care and treatment to those who have been infected.

“Workers in essential and public services are continuing to provide critical support to the rest of the population while others are working from home or embracing measures to avoid or contain the spread of the virus,” the President said.

“Workers and servicemen are our heroes in this campaign. A grateful nation salutes the efforts of workers who are playing their part to keep our country safe. Your government is not unmindful of the difficulties caused by the social restrictions which have been enforced since the outbreak of the disease in Guyana. The situation would have been worse without those measures which are necessary to protect us all.”

He assured all citizens that the government will continue to work assiduously to restore normalcy in administration, agriculture, business, construction, commerce, education, industry and the other productive sectors.

He said that the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) in the Ministry of the Presidency and the Ministry of Public Health are strengthening their organisation and intensifying their operations to provide greater support to vulnerable groups.

“Workers and servicemen should be confident that, together, we can overcome the perils of this pandemic. We urge everyone to contribute to the effort so that the country could be restored to normalcy as soon as possible,” the President stated.

He added: “The nation pays tribute to the courageous workers who go forth every day to continue to produce goods and services and to protect our people. The nation extends its gratitude to all workers on the occasion of Labour Day.”

In the past, President Granger has visited the headquarters of various labour unions, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to improving the quality of life for all workers regardless of the industry in which they are working, or which union is representing them.