The Ministry of Labour yesterday said it is in receipt of numerous complaints filed against security firms across Guyana in relation to pay and entitlements for guards and it urged compliance with the law.
In a release, the ministry cited sections of the labour law that are the most prominently violated in the security sector.
It adverted to Section 3 of the ‘Leave with Pay Act Cap 99:02’ which states that every worker is entitled to leave and sets out how leave is to be computed. The release noted that Section 4 of the said Act states that no employer shall require a worker to take his/her leave with pay in a period less than six consecutive days; provided that any of the days which are Sundays or Public Holidays shall not be computed as leave with pay. Additionally, the rate at which leave is calculated is at an employee’s current daily wage: Section 5(1).
The ministry further noted that any provision in any agreement between an employer and a worker, where the worker purports to contract himself at variance with the provisions of the Leave with Pay Act, or whereby the worker undertakes to receive any less benefit than he/she is entitled to under the said Act shall be of no effect.
The ministry also cited Section 12 of the Labour Act Cap 98:01 which provides that an employer shall pay wages either agreed between employer and employee or prescribed by law. The prescribed wages for security guards as set out in the National Minimum Wage Order No. 15 of 2016 is $255 per hour. The Order also mandates that the set hours of work are 40 hours which shall not exceed 5 days per week and any hours of work beyond the normal period shall attract overtime rate. The Ministry said that it was also made aware of employers who constantly engage in the act of part payment of wages at the end of the pay period after the workers would have worked the full period. It warned these employers to cease and desist immediately.
The Ministry warned that it will prosecute offenders to the full extent of the law upon receipt of any formal complaint.
Entities not in compliance, it said, should take active and immediate steps to conform with the law.
