Changing the game: Simona Broomes on labour relations and the Guyana economy

Simona Broomes with workers at Demerara Timbers

Just over six months after assuming duties as Minister in the Ministry of Social Protection in the APNU-AFC coalition government, Simona Broomes has begun to make waves in the labour relations sector. You sense, when you engage her that her effort derives from a combination of the force of her personality and her seeming complete commitment to what she does. It is not by accident that she has attracted generous measures of curious contemplation and public endorsement.

Broomes says she is driven by a “commitment to raising the bar,” as far as respect for the country’s labour laws and workers’ rights are concerned. “Business cannot only be about profit. It has to be about creating an environment in which workers get what is theirs and in which they can work in a safe environment,” she says.

She links her pursuit of an enhanced working environment to encouraging both local and overseas investment and boosting the economy. “I believe that improved labour relations and respect for workers’ rights can actually attract more investment in the