– rights activist
Programme Manager of the Amerindian People’s Asso-ciation (APA) Jean La Rose yesterday said the Ethnic Relations Commission, the National Toshaos’ Council and the newly formed Indi-genous People’s Commission should launch an investigation into the utterances made by the couple, who have been accused of breaching labour laws while having an Amerindian maid in their employ.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, La Rose said the APA was very concerned about the reported statements made by John and Cynthia Singh, owners of the Guyana Variety Store & Nut Centre, and she said the three organisations should take an interest.
The Singhs said they would never employ another Amerindian because businesspersons are being targeted and exploited by them. Cynthia Singh, in the presence of officials from the Labour and Amerindian Affairs ministries and members of the media last Friday, also used a derogatory term for people of Amerindian heritage while making the comment.
La Rose pointed out that for one to describe a group of persons in a derogatory manner “says a lot about that person”. She said she was particularly offended when she read this statement in the media. She added that while she believed the Singhs would be doing Amerindians a favour by not hiring them, for them to boldly say that they would not hire another Amerindian based on one case was wrong and discriminatory. She questioned what would happen if everyone decided not to hire persons of an ethnic group because of the actions of one person of that ethnicity. “It is wrong to label an entire group because of what one may have done—even though I don’t know what are the facts of this matter,” La Rose said.
The Singhs specifically lashed out at Amerindian women, whom they claimed were targeting business people, mostly men, in an effort to exploit them. La Rose questioned why they had hired the maid if they were aware of such instances. She also said there is a mountain of anecdotal evidence of Amerindians being exploited and taken advantage of by persons who hire them. She said the situation is not confined to women, as men are employed by logging companies and in some instances are not paid by their employers.
According to La Rose, the APA receives many calls from persons who are interested in hiring Amerindian maids and they are forced to tell them that they are not an agency. She said the APA does not support young women taking up domestic jobs because in many instances they are mistreated.
On Tuesday, the Singhs said the assistance now being offered to the woman by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security was not right. Cynthia Singh said the woman was found to be lying and “they should not be paying her they should be locking her up.” She also said she would like to ask the government why it is “opening its arms and help these people” since more situations like theirs would arise and business people would be exploited by Amerindian girls. She said she was the victim, not the woman and the government is creating a “monster” by helping the young woman.
And John Singh said he would be contacting the Toshao of the woman’s community to inform him of the woman’s actions since she is “a disgrace.”
Unpaid wages
Meanwhile, Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir yesterday said that the issue brought before his ministry involving the Singhs and their maid had to do with unpaid wages and the matter was dealt with in the presence of all parties.
The minister was contacted yesterday after the couple said on Tuesday that the woman, in a letter to Chief Labour Officer Yoganand Persaud, had agreed to “finish the matter”.
Questioned about Cynthia Singh having indicated in the presence of a labour officer that she does not pay National Insurance Scheme (NIS) for her maids, Nadir said that was a matter for the scheme to investigate. A senior labour officer, who did not want to be named, told Stabroek News yesterday that the ministry has since forwarded a report on the issue to NIS for investigation.
According to the officer, after she was removed from their home last week the woman related that she was only paid $20,000 for the three months and one week she worked for the couple.
However, during the meeting with the couple and labour officials on Tuesday, the officer said, she admitted that she was paid $40,000 and that clothing was purchased for her son, groceries were given to her mother and a cellular phone was also given to her mother. The officer said that the $4,500 the couple was claiming for the HIV test the maid was asked to do was discounted as it was indicated to the Singhs that they were obligated to pay for the test. The couple had indicated that prospective maids must do an HIV test before they are hired and if they tested positive they would not be employed. The officer said the young woman said she was unaware that the groceries and things bought for her son would be deducted from her salary.
On the issue that the woman was entitled to two days and a night off a month, the officer said the labour law says that a person should be given one day off a week. He said the woman said she did not take her days off as she would have been unable to travel to her home in a day because of the distance. She did get three days and two nights off with pay during the three months, which could be considered as leave, the officer said.
The officer stressed that labour was only investigating the labour issues and the other issues should be investigated by other entities such as the police and the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) agency.
John Singh has said that he has since given a statement to officers at the Alberttown Police Station and ranks at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Eve Leary, denying allegations of sexual advances made to the woman. He said officers indicated to him that there was no evidence of sexual harassment or human trafficking.
Stabroek News has been told that the woman was not imprisoned since she confirmed that she was sent on several errands by the couple and never attempted to escape. She had reportedly said the couple had told her she would have to wait until they found a new maid before she could leave and she was afraid of them.
The Singhs said they would not drop the issue of the missing video game and gold earrings. They said they wanted the woman and a neighbour she reportedly passed a bag to a few days before she was removed from their home to be investigated in this regard.
