If I say so myself, by any historical standard, the 1992-97 Cheddi Jagan regime was the most productive period for legislation intended to protect the working people of Guyana. Indeed, as if deliberately intended to create an ideological legacy for Cheddi Jagan, of the nine Acts that define modern labour legislation in Guyana mentioned on the International Labour Organisation’s Caribbean website, five were passed between 1992 and 1997 and four in a single year, 1997. Even today, when the regime boasts of their having some of the most modern labour laws in the Caribbean, it is usually referring to the legislation of this period.
The Marriott labour controversy has brought one of these Acts – the Prevention of Discrimination Act, 1997 – to mind, but before considering it, some comments on the factors that contributed to the Ministry of Labour being able to pass
