Minister in the Ministry of Social Protection Simona Broomes has told the Stabroek Business that she expects to meet with both the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) “as early as possible in October” to deal with matters pertaining to her ongoing interface with workplaces as regards employer/employee relations.
Broomes told this newspaper that part of the focus of these engagements would be to seek to get the help of the business support organizations in persuading their members and the business community as a whole “to treat fairly and honestly with their workers and to create conditions that would serve as an incentive for those workers to perform.”
And Broomes disclosed that she would also be communicating with the General Manager of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) with a view to engaging the entity on the matter of employer remittance of employee NIS contributions. Because, “Frankly, I fail to see why we must continue to live with a situation in which workers are denied access to what in many instances is the only savings they have.”
The minister said she also expects to engage the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on the matter of the remittance of employees’ taxes.
In the months since the APNU+AFC coalition took office, Broomes has attracted a good deal of public and media attention for her direct engagements with employers on matters pertaining to workplace safety and health as well as workers’ rights in labour disputes. Broomes told Stabroek Business that arising out of her recent visits to downtown business places she had managed to secure the cooperation of some employers in matters that had to do with “employee welfare.”
Disclosing to Stabroek Business that workplace visits and inspections were continuous, Broomes said she would not remain in her office while workers are being “abused and taken advantage of. That is not my understanding of the role of government,” Broomes added.
Asked whether she was satisfied with employer responses to her engagements with them, Broomes said that while she was “not entirely satisfied,” some employers now appeared inclined to cooperate with the ministry.
