THE government has approved a 36 per cent minimum wage increase for private sector workers, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali announced on Thursday.

“Cabinet has agreed with the recommendation of the tripartite committee, and that is, we are in support of the minimum wage; that is, the $60, 000,” he said.

He made the announcement while addressing the 74th Anniversary of the Enmore Martyrs at the monument site at Enmore, East Coast Demerara. During his address, the President hailed Lallabagee Kissoon, Pooran, Rambarran, Dookie, and Harry, who were fatally shot by the Colonial State’s agents in 1948, as brave men who created a platform for Guyana to achieve Independence.

“The blood of sugar workers was shed in pursuit of human dignity, and I want us to understand today that the blood of those sugar workers was not just for the sugar industry. It was for human dignity; it was for honesty; it was for us to rise as a nation. It is what gave us the platform for the achievement of Independence, and it is in their honour that we come here every year,” the President told the large gathering at the monument site.

The sugar workers, he said, did not only fight for the revolution of Guyana’s sugar industry, but also for advancing the country as a Democratic State.

President Ali also noted that as the nation continues to honour the strides and struggles of the Enmore Martyrs, it is important for all to be cognisant of their contributions in achieving human dignity and fairness for workers across the country.

“It is very important for us to reflect, in a spirit of honesty; in the spirit of fairness, and in the spirit of dignity,” he said.

President Ali also stated that his government will continue to make investments that will benefit all workers.

“As we become better, economically and financially, the workers must feel that benefit. We must not take away from them, but we must give to them,” he said.

The President committed to ensuring that the working people of Guyana are respected and awarded for their service.

“We are not sitting down and waiting; we want the working people to have ease. That is why we set aside $5B. We are working with every single group of fishermen and women, our farmers, our differently-able; every segment of the population,” he said, adding: “I commit to you, as a President, hand-in-hand with the representatives of workers, never ever to allow these attributes, and this founding philosophy of the government I serve to be lost.”

It is in the honour of the martyrs that the government continues to make investments in its people for a better life, President Ali said in closing.