Dear Editor,
The PPP/C Government certainly has developed a skill at delivering what usually results in inserting more wedges in this society, leading to widening of already broad gaps, intensifying seething discontents. The announcement involving the recruitment of 500 healthcare workers from Bangladesh qualifies as one such wedge situation. The government people doing the talking have pointed to regular politics as a contributor to all the noise. I nod to that but focus more on the economics of the matter.
To begin with, the successful recruitment of 500 nurses from the distant subcontinent is going to be costly. Using US$2000 as the average price per airline ticket from such a distance results in an upfront cost of US$1M (GY$200M) to get that nurse cohort here. Welcome to Guyana, and may all go well, as in Guyanese are well served and pleased. Second, the deal sealed with the recruiter Sigma will add a little penny to the total. Whether it is 10-15% per nurse recruited, or a bulk fee, it adds up. I heard some rumblings from Dr. Jagdeo that the Bangladeshi nurses will be paid at the same rates as Guyanese ones. Very good, doc, and thanks for the enlightenment. So, employing a monthly salary of GY$100K per nurse (GY$1.2M annually), the hole gets a shovel deeper. We are now looking at around GY$600M per annum for these pending 500 from the Bay of Bengal.
At 10-15% per head, this looks like anywhere between GY$60M to GY$90M for Sigma. I stopped at 15%, but it could be as much as 20%, if Sigma is a hard bargainer, or an insider. Third, these immigrant nurses would have to be housed. I think it would, or should, be included in any recruitment/compensation package. No visions of any 4-star housing are anticipated, but GY$50,000 per month could put a roof over their heads, and little else. Please bear in mind, editor, that I am listing heavily to the safe side with these things and be reminded that they are approximations only. The idea is that emotions are extinguished (good luck with that in Guyana) and the economics of the situation take hold (another hardheaded loser). These nurses would have to be housed on the Guyana taxpayer’s dollar for a minimum of three months, before having to go out on their own; or foot the rent from their pockets. Now, 3 months’ rent at GY$50,000 monthly for 500 individuals looks like GY$75M to me (3x50x500 = 75,000,000). Transportation costs should be an item on their monthly claim, but I will make the inglorious (and unrealistic) assumption that all 500 are going to be based in GT, so they will walk to work. No charge for uniforms and other sundries.
By my count, this totals close to $400M, if not over, should my prices not be on the high side. I urge forbearance for what is left out of this rudimentary calculation, admittedly crude. Now GY$400M to address a shortage in a normal society, and an oil rich country at that, is a walk in the park. The same half amount, however, in a place that is anything but normal brings us to exactly where things stand. An undesirable place, with voting and moving to weaken a working-class segment of workers, and all but sidelining them. It so happens that nursing demographics have an eerie resemblance to those of teachers when given a passing glance. Is everybody with me? These are flashpoint issues, and more will be said, as imagined or postured, on these.
Considering the Bangladeshi nurse landscape, Kuwaitis and UAE citizens come to mind. They sit back, and foreigners do everything for them, save for toiletries. Here, Guyanese work for everybody, and nobody does anything for them, including talking to them, respecting them. Unfortunately, nobody includes their own government. The PPP Government doesn’t go to battle for them (oil contract). The PPP Government doesn’t want to pay them more (teachers). The PPP Government ties one bundle after another with foreign operators at the expense of locals (money differentials). The biggest winner in all of this is Sigma (whatever it is, and whoever is the real dealer in it). Coming up, nurses are on tap. The next crew could be drivers and helpers. A big tempting group looks like the teaching profession. To repeat an earlier thought, Guyanese will be a minority here in a few years. Less than originally thought, viz., lesser years, smaller presence.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
