House approves $1.7B for Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning

Feb 12, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – The Committee of Supply on Wednesday approved an estimated $1.7 billion for the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning. The sum was approved during the consideration of the estimates and expenditures for budget 2026.

Minister of Labour and Manpower Planning, Keoma Griffith, highlighted that the Government of Guyana is providing various opportunities to educate and upskill citizens. The minister said that the government will continue to build a system to ensure that every person across Guyana has access to world-class education at every level.

House approves $1.7B for Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning

Minister of Labour and Manpower Planning, Keoma Griffith

Minister Griffith noted that, as it pertains to his ministry, the vision is to decentralise all of the training that is currently available. “There is also the central recruitment agency of the ministry that seeks to ensure that we allow persons to get decent employment, and so we will just continue to train and decentralise our training”, the minister highlighted. Additionally, for manpower planning, the budget allocation is $791,326.

Moreover, answering a question by an Opposition member on the allocation for trade unions, Minister Griffith explained that the Guyana Public Service Union will receive $1,297,297, while the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) will receive $1,297,297.

The Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning’s budget increased from approximately $1.51 billion in 2025 to $1.74 billion in 2026.

Last week, Griffith detailed the restoration and expansion of the Ministry of Labour, noting that it was upgraded from a department to a full-scale ministry dedicated to promoting decent work and protecting labour rights.

He also highlighted strengthened enforcement capacity, including the expansion of health and safety officers from nine positions in 2015 to more than 32 to date.

Minister Griffith further pointed to modern labour market interventions such as the national job bank, which registered 11,387 job seekers, solicited over 2,157 vacancies, and successfully placed 647 persons in employment, many of them young people.

Minister Griffith noted that Budget 2026 will also advance manpower planning through the establishment of a national manpower agency and new training initiatives, reinforcing the government’s commitment to decent work, stronger labour protections and sustainable development.

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Guyana Teachers Union, Keoma Griffith, Manpower Planning, Ministry of Labour

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