With many stores being shuttered around George-town by the COVID-19 lockdown, hundreds are now without jobs or dealing with pay cheque cuts.
For businesses that are still open, a number of them have taken to rotating staff to avoid having to lay off persons.
Outside of Courts at their Main Street branch, a long queue formed as persons turned up to pay bills and make queries on their accounts. General Manager of Courts, Clyde de Haas said that the company is not allowing any sales during the current lockdown. With regard to whether any employees were laid off or had salaries cut, the GM said that they are currently “trying to buy time” and not have to resort to either of the two options just yet, indicating that all the staff there are still employed with the company. However, while those entering the building were required to sanitise their hands and maintain distance, those waiting outside of the store were not keen on following social distancing standards.
At Gizmos and Gadgets, the store remained open. Although an electronics store, the executive assistant to the CEO, Marcia Balkaran, noted that they offer a service for paying bills which is considered to be an essential service as she pointed out in a highlighted section of the Emergency Measures – National Curfew and Stay Home Order. According to the order in section 6 (e) and (f), it is stated that businesses supplying electricity and water supply services may carry on operations for 24 hours.
“We offer support with bill payment for the water supply services for GWI and for GPL. We are the master agent for GTT, so we conduct services [on their behalf with regards to] purchasing of Sims, Sim replacement, [payment] for telephone bills, internet bills….” Balkaran said. Gizmos and Gadgets she further stated, are master agents for MMG (Mobile Money Guyana) as well. Through their online shopping service, persons can purchase items on Amazon through their website, Web Express, and uplift their purchases at the store.
However, asked whether devices were still being sold, the executive assistant said though it’s not often, persons who do enter wishing to purchase something from the store will not be denied, before quickly pointing out their sanitisers on a table adjacent to the entrance which were also on sale.
In addition to this, Balkaran said that the store has taken the initiative to give away free fabric face masks, 2 per person. Persons are not allowed to enter the store without wearing a face mask and will be given one to wear before being allowed to enter.
She further confirmed that there are employees of the store who were laid off, adding that this was only a temporary situation. Some other employees were given this time for their paid vacation. Asked the number of persons that would have lost their jobs, the woman said she was unable to say and only the Human Resources (HR) Manager would be able to confirm this. However, calls placed to the HR manager went unanswered.
Obliquely across Gizmos and Gadgets at Payless, persons waited in a line for customers to leave the store so that they could enter. Unlike a number of stores which have resorted to the use of hand sanitisers, a sink with a tap was installed so that customers could wash their hands and wipe them with the paper towels provided. The security at the door held out a no-touch thermometer testing each person’s temperature twice before allowing entry.
“Payless has always been one of the busiest stores and business has slowed a great lot. We have persons turning up for detergents, household stuff…. We had set up a [rotating] system where one set of persons worked for two days and another set for another two days. Some gone on leave also”, Supervisor Shonel Benjamin explained.
Out of a total of 20 employees, Benjamin said that only eleven are allowed to work each day adding that no one’s salary was cut. She pointed out the spots marked off to ensure that the proper distance among the customers was being maintained.
Chief Executive Officer at American Home and Beauty Centre, Sam Ajouri, noted that authorities had requested he shutter his business which he did for a day but explained that he was allowed to reopen his store after he pointed out to authorities that he sold cleaning supplies and medical scrubs. He said that he used to sell the blue surgical masks at the price of $20 but since the costs for face masks have gone up, he chose to stop selling them as according to him, he would have had to sell one at the cost of $300, which he was not willing to do.
Because of decline in sales, Ajouri said that he has since taken to the rotating system which means that American Home employees will only be paid for the days they work. However, he further said that once all returns to normal, he has promised his employees that he will pay them for the days they were asked to stay home. As it relates to social distancing, Ajouri said that only ten persons are allowed in the store, provided that they allowed their hands to be sanitised before entering.
Meanwhile supervisor of Digicom, Torun Singh, noted that the store is only open three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday). Currently Digicom’s staff is also being rotated. No one has yet been laid off but Singh said that there is to be a meeting soon about whether pay cheques will be cut. He mentioned also that the employee at the door who was sanitising customers who went into the store was recently hired for that purpose. The store he says is open for persons who are making online purchases.
Pressy Enterprise, a photo studio, was another of several of the stores open along Regent Street. Asked what made the store essential for business, owner of the business, Selwyn Prescott said he was selling phone cards and offering MMG services. The business proprietor noted that he has since had to lay off his staff, being unable to pay them, adding that for two months he has paid his employees out of his pocket, something he had been doing in the run up to general elections. Prescott explained also that due to the decline in business he had to close the doors to Pressville Hotel and Banquet Hall, which he also owns.
Employees of Gafoors shared that they too are working on a rotating system, where they work one week and stay home the next. They were told that their salaries will be cut but they cannot say yet, how much money will be deducted from their salaries. When the Human Resources Department of the company was contacted about this, the response was that all questions will be answered at a later date.
Among other the business entities to have shuttered their businesses resulting in persons being without jobs are the malls along Regent Street, China Trading, Austin Book Services, Colours, Singers, and Classic Styles.
