Dear Editor,
I found myself in this strangest of positions, that of agreeing with Guyana’s head of state, on something he said recently that was not just accurate, but had an uncustomary ring of truth about it (“Contractors can’t find workers -President” -SN April 5). My wish – indeed, my Lenten prayer – is that His Excellency will say things and do more things with which I can agree and applaud. I urge him to do so with the big things, the ones that have national meaning, that sparkle with clear leadership truths. When the President can lead the way to manifest before the world that we have parted company with deceptions and trickeries, he will find a stalwart cheerleader right here. I trust that both he and his people will not get carried away, and think that I could be a rah-rah supporter, or a voter, for those are alien to me.
As said, I am as one with the President on the shortage of workers experienced by contractors. It is not just skilled workers, but even those who have none, but have already concluded that they are Kuwaitis or Saudis, meaning, that they could sit on their hands and the world would come rushing to their feet. With a handout, of course. For as the President said, and contractors wring their hands in despair, many Guyanese can identify with this shortage of workers. For just about everything. Seek a reliable person to work in the home, and keep fingers crossed that luck smiles. It is the same story in the yard, for the car, or to do some work on fence or house. They are just not there. Those who are around are best not to have around, so incompetent, or unscrupulous, or undependable they usually are. I know these things, having learned the hard way. The skilled ones and good ones (workers) have already been snatched away, and have their hands full, with plenty of opportunities lined up and waiting. It is a seller’s market. Competent workers can pick and choose, call whatever shots please them, and demand their own price. Their hours and days are so compressed that they are flitting from worksite to worksite, which can be a problem for those employers expecting more, and who are forced to settle for less than satisfactory work.
On the plus side, this means that employment numbers should be encouraging, if not exciting. On the side of reality, there is still the grim picture of too many hanging out, riding around, skulking about, looking to make a fast dollar off the unwary. Also, there are those who have some ‘paper’ in their hands, but themselves are made of paper, relative to what they represent and are able to deliver. This means that Guyanese households, contractors, and other employers frequently end up with the dregs of the dregs, that are scraped from the bottom of the workforce barrel. It is take it or leave it, and with a broad smile, buster.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
