From the various accounts that we have received regarding Junior Minister Simona Broomes’ walkabout on Regent Street on Tuesday, including the account given to us by the minister herself, the experience was both revealing and deeply disturbing.
The minister readily conceded to this newspaper that having engaged probably 100 business houses on Regent Street she could not find one that was completely compliant with all or even most of the country’s labour laws. Indeed, she told this newspaper that she found numerous instances of employer/employee relations that amounted to exploitation and “semi slavery” (she actually did use the expression semi-slavery) and that labour relations being part of her brief she was decidedly disinclined to have the extant transgressions persist on her watch.
After she had completed her city walkabout the minister told this newspaper, among other things, that large numbers of workers in the commercial sector not only function in what, often, are the most inhospitable work spaces, but work long hours without being compensated. They also have their pay ‘docked’ when they are late, ill or absent for any other reason and are made to sign pay sheets indicating that they have collected higher amounts of wages than they actually receive. In addition, sums deducted from their wages to pay their national insurance contributions are not remitted to the National Insurance Scheme, a circumstance that leaves them vulnerable in the event of illness.
And against the backdrop of what is widely known to be the flagrant disregard for the country’s labour laws by expatriate merchants which has long gone under-reported in the media, Minister Broomes disclosed an entirely believable story of suspected labour trafficking involving a non-Guyanese merchant. She also expressed her disgust over what she said was evidence of absolute contempt for the youngsters (mostly women) who work for peppercorn wages in Chinese-owned stores and are even being denied their entitlement of a lunch break.
None of this is new. All of what the minister has said has been happening for years and that, to a far greater extent than her recent revelation, is what is significant. In the minister’s view, the significance reposes in the fact that these practices persisted under the previous administration. From our standpoint the shocking disclosures on worker abuse were taking place for a much longer period under the watch of business support organizations (BSOs) and a trade union movement which, together, have little to show by way of effort let alone result for putting an end to worker abuse. The minister, of course, did not point fingers directly at either the private sector bodies or the trade union movement though we believe that her silence here is simply reflective of a measure of diplomatic sensitivity.
Taken in context, the meetings between the minister and her officials and the private sector bodies which she has said could take place as early as next week could well precipitate a landmark in employer/employee relations in the commercial sector (among others) and must therefore extend beyond a forum of politeness and platitudes. BSOs must buy into what would appear to be a commitment on Minister Broomes’ part to bringing an end to the ‘raw deal’ which large numbers of workers have had to endure at the hands of employers for years. The BSOs themselves must adopt, as one of their guiding principles a fundamental respect for labour standards and the trade union movement must begin to do much more than make occasional pronouncements that lead nowhere.
The minister has said to this newspaper that while she is inclined to take a stakeholder approach to righting the wrongs on which she has placed a spotlight she is equally determined to act with alacrity and within the limits of the laws at her disposal to assertively persuade delinquent employers to do the right things by the people who work for them. That is as it should be.
