Marriott labour cry is more political in nature – Ramotar

President Donald Ramotar said the issues surrounding Chinese labour at the Marriott Hotel are more political in nature rather than a genuine concern for Guyanese.

Responding to questions during a press conference at the Miami Hilton last Saturday, the president dismissed the suggestion that allowing Chinese skilled workers to construct the hotel is an indication that Guyana lacks the skills.
“That’s not the issue; in fact to me, when I look at the issue, I think it’s more like the opposition looking for an issue to try to make a fight, because one – a lot of Guyanese are being employed, because contractors supply all the concrete work, security services, many other services that the contractor needs in building the hotel are being supplied there…  I think Guyanese have done more construction in the Caribbean than any other group of people, so it’s not that we don’t have capable people and so forth as they are saying,” the president explained.
Huge discount
He noted that there is a contract with the Chinese company under which, by allowing them to use Chinese workers on the project, Guyana benefitted from a huge discount.
“We have a contract with the Chinese to build the Marriott Hotel. That contract was gone into; part of it we had a discount to allow the Chinese to come in, from US$65 million toUS$51 million in the construction of the hotel,” the head of state said.
President Ramotar said while there is not a lack of skilled Guyanese, the demand for their services is very high, especially in Guyana’s current construction boom, to which he cited the ongoing Black Bush Polder Road and the Hope Canal works which “are behind schedule, largely not because of the lack of skills, but because of the lack of labour.”
The Guyanese leader also pointed out that “the economy has been growing and has been absorbing a lot of labour,” especially in the mining and construction sector.
“The construction sector in Guyana has grown enormously. We are building new roads to the airport; they are also struggling (behind schedule). So in my own view, this is more political, than it is real,” the president posited.
Recently, the use of Chinese labour in the ongoing construction of the Marriott had prompted a picketing exercise by opposition entities at the site, and a threat by the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) to take court action.
Ramsaroop’s stance
Meanwhile, a former multi-party politician, Peter Ramsaroop has also chided the opposition for their stance against the employment of Chinese labour at the hotel project.
“I have been a strong opposition member over the last decade until one day I woke up and realised I was just wasting my time opposing the same programmes that I was trying to champion, and decided to see where I can work with the government of the day to make our nation a better place,” Ramsaroop, a former member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Alliance For Change (AFC), Vision Guyana, and People’s Partnership wrote in a letter to the editor.  He said he will still continue to speak towards a better economic future for all Guyanese.

“The Marriott is a good thing for Guyana…the fact that the Chinese got the contract to build the hotel within a set period of time and with complex construction engineering should not be looked at in a negative manner…the fact that there is not any large contingent of Guyanese workers, if any, should only be a matter of concern that Guyanese have not had the exposure necessary to construct large multi-storey buildings,” he said.
He argued that there are competent construction engineers in Guyana, but “we do not have the magnitude necessary to contract all of them towards one such project.”
Inadequate training
The businessman said skilled construction workers in Guyana are difficult to find and the level of training available is often poor in these areas and as such “maybe the opposition should be fighting for more technical schools so our people can be able to compete better in the future.”
“One needs to look at capital projects in the context of how they move the nation forward.  Most of the permanent staff at Marriott will come from the current service industry,” he said, noting that those working at the Pegasus and in other areas of the sector will have to step up their standards to meet the level of the Marriott.
The Chinese have only been aiding development in our country thus far, “we all benefit. I call on the opposition to have meaningful discussions in Parliament on economic improvement that will enhance our nation, versus arguing whether a minister speaks or not.  What an achievement for over a year,” Ramsaroop divulged.