The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is partnering with the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) and the Labour, Human Services and Social Security Ministry’s National Training Programme for Youth Empowerment (NTPYE) to create a wider pool of skills for the forestry sector.
According to a release by the commission, the Board of Industrial Training has been very successful over the years in providing vocational training and education to a large number of youths in every region of Guyana, equipping them with marketable skills in various occupations.  The board was established more than 40 years ago under the Industrial Training Act, Chapter 39:04 of the Laws of Guyana to provide training opportunities for youths and to equip them with marketable skills.

Labour Minister Dr Nanda Gopaul on Monday disclosed that more than 31,000 persons in Guyana will benefit from the $35,000 minimum wage standard slated to take effect from July 1.

He told Guyana Times that the minimum wage standard caters for fulltime employees working for 40 hours per week or more. “All will benefit across the board, from security guards to janitors to domestic workers, all will benefit,” he said.
Boasting about the progress made thus far, Minister Gopaul said for the first time in the history of Guyana, vulnerable workers will be protected by the implementation of a minimum wage.
Employers are pleased
According to him, from the responses received thus far from both the private and the public sectors, employers are pleased with the outlined sum, noting that some businessmen indicated that it should have been “a little more”. He emphasised that this is a move in the right direction, considering the current industrial relations climate.

By Svetlana Marshall
An arbitration panel has awarded a maximum of six per cent in salary increases for workers at the Guyana Power and Light (GPL,) ending a protracted bitter dispute between the power company and the union.
On Thursday, arbitration tribunal chairman, retired Justice Prem Persaud disclosed that the power company’s grade one workers will receive an increase of six per cent, while the other categories will receive an increase of 5.5 per cent retroactive to January 2012.

Minister of Labour, Dr. Nanda Gopaul today called for greater solidarity in the labour movement in fighting for workers’ rights and addressing the issues they are facing. Minister Gopaul was at the time speaking at the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) Labour Day rally, at the Critchlow Labour College, Woolford Avenue, where hundreds of workers gathered for the traditional May Day event.

Present at the event also were Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Leader of the Opposition David Granger and other Members of Parliament.

Minister Gopaul said that in every society, Government leaders and  labour advocate must  be on their heels and put the pressure on, to ensure that the working people benefit from time to time and that their concerns are addressed. He reiterated that there are problems with workers everywhere, and trade  union unity can help to solve them.

Over the last year, the Labour Ministry  received many reports of cases where dozens of workers’ services were terminated  without any benefits. As a result, Minister Gopaul said that Government had to intervene by providing millions of dollars of benefits to the workers.

Funds estimated for the triple sector Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security remained integral during the consideration of the estimates in the National Assembly today. The sum of $9.1B was allocated under current expenditure for the Ministry.

Under this allocation, $222.7M is geared towards strategic planning and the administration of the Human Services sector. This allocation will be used to co-ordinate the work programme of the Ministry and to ensure that services and resources are used efficiently and effectively.

Under the social services sector, $8.2M was allocated to promote the social welfare of all Guyanese by providing social, economic and medical services to the citizens of Guyana.

Georgetown, GINA, April 4, 2013.

The Board of Industrial Training (BIT) programme held a graduation ceremony on Wednesday to mark the achievement of 109 single parents who completed training programmes in various fields.

The training was conducted at the West Demerara Technical and Vocational Training Centre, Leonora, Region Three and comprised courses such as garment construction, catering, cosmetology, child care and care for the elderly.

Principal of the Training Centre Mrs. Cecelia Chung-Hinds invited the graduates and others present to observe how the programme has benefitted persons and their various communities.

“We as parents need to embrace what they are doing for us, and we need to work with them to make the community a better place.”

Project Coordinator of the National Training Programme for the Youth Empowerment (NTPYE) Mrs. Coreen Connelly stressed on the number of single parents who have benefitted from the just completed programme completed and the further 26 whose training rolled over from 2012 to enable their graduating at the same time.