The opposition has declared its disapproval of the government’s decision to import foreign workers to fill healthcare positions and has stated that such a move denigrates local workers while opening the door for corruption and political manipulation.
This was stated in a press release last week, which noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Government of Guyana has authorised a recruiting agency to hire 500 Bangladeshi healthcare workers for both the private and public sectors.
The release opined that such information only came to light after the matter became public knowledge, and as such views it as “unacceptable” and further confirmation of the government’s “dislike for transparency and accountability.”
As far as the opposition is concerned, the approval for the recruitment of foreign workers is evidence of the administration’s continued reluctance to provide the necessary wages and salaries and working conditions to retain local healthcare workers. It is also evident, it argued, that the government intends to ensure that Guyanese healthcare workers, teachers and all public servants continue to live in poverty, and bolstered this claim by pointing out that while the government says that the Guyanese workers should wait until 2027 for a livable income, it was seeking to give foreign workers a better salary, and concomitantly, a better way of life than Guyanese.
The opposition release contended that the salaries and benefits being offered the foreign workers were substantially higher than for equivalent Guyanese workers in the healthcare system; “a slap in the face of hardworking Guyanese workers by the PPP government.” The use of work contracts to recruit public servants from other countries is a “devious” stratagem by the PPP to suppress wages and benefits for local workers, the release stated.
It suggested that the recruitment of foreign workers will likely spread to the education system and the wider public service with Guyanese workers ending up being second-class workers in their own country. The release added that the government was trying to secretly introduce foreigners into society, with total disregard of the views and concerns of the people of Guyana.
The release also cautioned that the choice of Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan workers was “deliberate” since as citizens of the Commonwealth, in one year they will become eligible to vote in Guyana. “This is a clear attempt by the PPP regime to use migrants to boost its fading popularity in its traditional strongholds,” the release said.
To bolster its argument, the release pointed out that the government in coming to power “deliberately” closed the Charles Rosa Nursing School in Linden. It opined that the PPP strategy seems to be to underpay health workers and public servants generally, leave them in poor working conditions and to reduce the training of Guyanese to fill these positions.
It further argued that the government was clearly creating the conditions for health workers and public servants to migrate so that they can replace them with foreigners who they are likely to exercise control over. “The government needs to desist from this destructive strategy and create conditions conducive to Guyanese wanting to be health workers and public servants and remain in Guyana. We therefore call for a halt to this process,” the release said.
Instead, the opposition said, the government should ensure agreement with the trade unions on multi-year pay packages for healthcare workers, teachers and other public servants through collective bargaining.
In addition, the release said, the government should table a policy paper on immigration and migration in the National Assembly for scrutiny, discussion and a consensual approach to these issues. The government should also provide reliable data on the number of migrants and foreign workers in Guyana, the release said.. It called on the government to restore the law as it relates to the issuance of birth certificates so as to ensure transparency, accountability and the security of the Guyanese society and end the present approach in which anyone can sign a document which can then allow questionable characters to become eligible voters.
The opposition also underscored the need for a proper system of making migrants eligible to vote in Guyana as their presence here, if not properly handled, has serious implications for the country’s political stability and social cohesion. It also reminded that Guyana is engaged in a territorial controversy with Venezuela and thus needs to be security conscious at this stage.
The release also took note of the potential for unethical behaviour. “The question of importing migrants takes on even greater proportions when it is noted that Vice President [Bharrat] Jagdeo has been accused of bribery and corruption and is a key actor in the decisions of the government. As such, the importation of migrants teems with potential for corruption and political manipulation.”
