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Guyana headed for industrial relations collapse – TUC President

Mar 19, 2009 News

President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Gillian Burton, has said that from what she has seen, Guyana is heading for an industrial relations collapse.
Burton was at the time addressing questions put forward by this newspaper about manufacturers cutting jobs as a consequence of the impact of the global financial crisis.
Manufactures in Guyana have begun cutting jobs, given the drop in overseas demand for their products.
President of the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA), Ramesh Dookhoo, told Kaieteur News that the sectors particularly hit by the global economic slowdown are the garment manufacturing and value-added wood sectors.
He said some 150 workers have already been laid off, and another 50 jobs are immediately threatened.
Dookhoo explained that the drying up of export orders from Europe and North America is the main reason for the layoffs in these sectors, since a drop in demands means less production.
Burton told this newspaper that if a manufacturing entity has problems to keep the money coming in there will be spin-off effects on human resources.
According to her, they will start to scale down not only as it relates to production but manpower as well.
She added that whatever happens in some parts of the world will definitely trickle down on Guyana and it is bad of the government to say that all will be well with Guyana when that is not the case.
“What has to happen is that labour, employers and the government have to sit down together and find a way to address this issue.”
She pointed out that it is now a national situation. “We can’t play hide and seek with the issues.”  
Burton said that the problem is not going to be in one sector alone and if people lose their jobs there is really nothing to do.
“They can’t pick themselves up and go and find work in other countries because all over the Caribbean is faced with the same problems.”
According to her, if people do not have options there is going to be an escalation in crime and other social ills.
“If the issues are not addressed it is not going to get any better…we have to collaboratively decide what to do.”

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