Guyana Ministry of Labour hosts sensitization sessions on workplace legislation

As the Government of Guyana prepares for a new Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), the Ministry of Labour is hosting a series of seminars in the first quarter of 2024 on workplace legislation for the protection of worker rights.

Recent seminars were held on 15 February and 6 March 2024 and were designed to increase awareness and understanding among workers and businesses on workplace legislation to ensure workplace compliance with the country’s labour laws.

The event drew over 202 participants from 171 entities, inclusive of both private (145) and public (26) entities. The seminars included officials from, among others, Amalgamated Security (Guyana) Inc., Barge Solutions (Guyana) Inc., BPI Guyana Inc., CB & Associates Inc., Cerulean Incorporated, Citizens Bank Guyana Inc., Correia & Correia Inc., CORUM Restaurant Group Inc., Cyril Transportation, Demerara Bank Limited, Enet Inc., El Dorado Offshore, ETK Mining Inc., Eureka Medical Laboratories Inc., Excel Guyana Inc., Massy Distribution Guyana Inc., Noble House Seafoods Limited, Oilfield Waste Management Inc., The New Building Society Limited, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security; Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA); Bureau of Statistics; Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation; Edward B. Beharry Linden Hospital Complex; National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI); National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE); and the National Data Management Authority (NDMA), among others.

Insights gathered from the outreach initiative are expected to help inform the development of Guyana’s third DWCP which seeks to address labour market priorities and challenges in pursuit of decent work and social justice.

Featured themes included laws governing the national minimum wage, probationary periods and paid leave, workplace safety and health, overtime payments, severance pay, termination of employment, inspections and record-keeping, and reporting incidents of child labour.

Speaking at the session, Minister of Labour the Honourable Joseph Hamilton, told participants that the aim of the knowledge-sharing session was two-fold: to provide employers and employees with a better understanding of workers’ rights and to support the safeguarding against current and future issues.

He also emphasized the Ministry of Labour’s role in protecting and advocating for the rights, health and safety and overall well-being of workers across the country and encouraged social dialogue with the Ministry to promote labour law compliance.

Chief Labour Officer Dhaneshwar Deonarine also spoke during the event and underscored the importance of workers’ rights. He highlighted that if all the entities present were to comply fully with the requirements under the Labour and occupational safety and health (OSH) laws, then the rights of 24,916 workers would be respected. He urged the representatives to see their workers as their greatest assets and that without them, they would have a contract but would not be able to honour their obligations under that contract without the workers.

To date over 100 Government ministries, agencies, and private sector firms have participated in the Ministry’s labour seminars in 2024, representing a workforce of
24, 916 persons.