Gov’t translates labour laws for Brazilian employers in Guyana

By Lakhram Bhagirat

Labour Minister Dr Nanda Gopaul

The Labour Ministry on Wednesday handed over a series of labour laws, which were translated into Portuguese, to Brazilians – warning them to uphold the law or be punished. The initiative aims to provide Brazilians working in the country with a better understanding of rules and regulations governing the workforce in Guyana.
Copies of the translated legislation were presented by Labour Minister Dr Nanda Gopaul to representatives of the Brazilian business community, the Guyana-Brazil Development Institute and the Brazilian Mining and General Association at the first seminar for non-nationals operating shops, hotels, and restaurants across Guyana.
The Holiday with Pay Act, the minimum pay act, the Conditions of Employment Act and the termination of employment and severance pay act are among the translations. “For the hospitality industry, we have the conditions of pay act and we have issues of noise, fire prevention, health and safety – all embroidering that detailed occupational health and safety act,” Gopaul said.

Laws breached
He stated that over the past year, the ministry has received several complaints from persons, working under foreign management, of laws being breached, and those breaches were corrected. “….many of those cases gave us the impression, and when we dealt with them, that the laws were breached not because you as employers wanted to breach them, but because you didn’t understand fully what the laws are,” the minister told the seminar’s participants.
He noted that the authorities took those situations as examples and began concentrating on the areas that were “problematic”, hence the translation of the breached legislation. He added that they are confident that the legislation would provide a better understanding of regulations and reduce the number of breaches. “We know there is a genuine interest in all of you doing business in Guyana to work within the confines of our law.”
“There are also issues of workers working in these entities to observe these laws as it related to occupational health and safety. Very often, it is the feeling that workers have rights and that they demand their rights, but equally employers have rights and you should also demand that the workers observe their conditions of employment and honour them… so employment relations is a two way street,” Gopaul stated.