I decided to consider the Prevention of Discrimination Act, Chapter 99:09 (No. 26 of 1997) separately because it appears to me that it provides enormous opportunities for us to deal with one of our most persistent problems: discrimination in employment in both the public and private sectors. Furthermore, the present discourse was raised in the context of the Marriott labour dispute and this Act suggests that a contract which seeks to exclude Guyanese labour is not only illegal but provides a concrete demonstration of how far the current regime has drifted away from the spirit of Cheddi Jagan, in whose time the above legislation was passed.
Generally, the Prevention of Discrimination Act provides for the elimination of discrimination in employment, training, recruitment, and membership of professional bodies and also requires equal pay for work of equal value.
Part III of the Act states that it shall be unlawful for any person who is an employer or acting on behalf of an employer in relation to recruitment for purposes of training, apprenticeship or employment to discriminate against a
