Despite the oil proceeds and huge 2023 budget, the working poor and vulnerable of the country continue to be battered by the high cost of living which the government has not addressed, according to the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC).
The umbrella union body in a statement yesterday said that like other progressive organisations it is more concerned with the Human Development Index (HDI) than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as a measurement of growth.
It noted that in the 2023 budget, the government boasts of GDP growth in 2022 of over 60% and more than a 41% increase in spending in 2023 “but these have seen no comparative improvement in the lives of the working poor and vulnerable, nor any indication on government’s part how this could be made possible”.