WHY WORK WHEN THERE IS MA AND PA TO PROVIDE?

Jan 24, 2012 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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On a very quiet morning a few years ago, a gentleman went berserk in the city and attacked workers in an automotive repair shop.
At the time of the attack, there were not many persons on the streets. Fortunately, the police were quickly on the scene and were able to neutralize the threat.
Within minutes of this incident persons began to emerge from neighbouring yards in their numbers. It was simply unbelievable to see the large numbers that emerged from homes.
The question that immediately sprung to mind was: Why were these individuals, most of whom were of working age, not gainfully employed?
It is a development that can be seen throughout Guyana. There are hundreds of persons, especially young people who are at home, not necessarily because there are no jobs but because many of them are simply not interested in finding a job.
After all, why go and work all day for a miserly $2,000 when you can wake up late, watch TV all day, enjoy three square meals, dress in the latest threads and still find time to hang out hours with friends? Is this not the good life, and all of this is compliments of ma and pa.
There are many young persons and not so young persons who are simply not interested in working. And so they stay at home all day and enjoy life without having to go and work.
Not everyone is however that fortunate. The vast majority of our adult population needs to work. And there have been many complaints that jobs are not available.
Yet if you pick up the newspapers each day there are a number of vacancies which are advertised. While these will not satisfy the total demand of the unemployed who are seeking jobs, they do amount to a significant number of vacancies.
A discussion with employers also reveals some disturbing trends. For one, there is a high turnover of workers. It seems that many young persons do not stick around long enough, at least not long enough to compensate for the cost of training that is borne by the employers.
Secondly most employers complain about the quality of the workers they are finding. Some of applicants have excellent academic qualifications but are often found wanting in the practical aspects of their training. This means that employers have to invest more than usual in training.
There is also a serious problem faced by many employers of finding the right employees and in adequate numbers. There is a sign erected on a construction sight on the East Coast of Demerara, advertising for workers.
This sign flies in the face of the complaints of a lack of jobs. It is not the lack of jobs; it is the lack of the type of jobs that many desire. There is a shortage of labour in the construction sector and this is not surprising since many school leavers prefer to work in offices rather than on construction sites.
During the run- up to Cricket World Cup 2007, two major hotels were being built and yet there was a problem obtaining labour to complete one of them. The company building one of the hotels was forced to increase the remuneration in order to attract skills.
Yet there are many persons within our society who indicate that they are willing to work but cannot find work. Some of them even say that they are willing to work on a construction site. And there are thousands of Guyanese who have left these shores to do construction work in the islands of the Caribbean. Why were they not being employed in Guyana?
Some large contractors are able to fund fulltime work for a large segment of their workers. These workers know that once they get into the employ of these large contractors, there will be work year in year out.
However, one of the problems that many unemployed persons face is obtaining information as to where the jobs are. Many of them depend on friends and associates to inform them of some construction site. Some of them also simply turn up at construction sites hoping to be employed.
What this shows is that one of the reasons why there is not full employment of those with construction skills is simply because there is no way in which all those seeking jobs can be linked with those with vacancies.
The government has established a mechanism to address this concern through the creation of a recruitment and manpower register. But from the evidence available there may be a need to tweak the systems to ensure that they work in a way that links every potential worker with employers. This would help to find jobs for thousands who are willing to work.
The Jamaican Government is hoping to immediately create 700 odd jobs. We can do better than that in Guyana. Given the number of houses that are going up in Guyana and the construction work that is taking place throughout Guyana, we should be importing labour since there will not be enough to complete all the work that is available.
We therefore do not need to complain about lack of capacity. We have the capacity. What we do not have is a system that allows persons to know where the jobs are, as well as there are many who are simply not interested in working, that is not as long as ma and pa are alive and well to provide for their upkeep.

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