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Jan 20, 2013 News
President of the Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC), Norris Witter has applauded the government for its continued initiative of making available translated local labour legislation to foreigners living here. He however believes that the administration needs to show greater willingness to prosecute those who breach the law, as it is the most vital of the approach.
Witter is of the view that more needs to be done, now that the translated laws have been handed over to ensure that breaches are reduced or prevented. He opined that the Labour Ministry should seek to strengthen its inspectorate department to secure full compliance. “The translation of the law and its provision would be useless,” Witter asserted, “If there is no guarantee that they would follow, and more importantly, no guarantee that those guilty would be prosecuted.”
Witter said that he makes the remarks against the back drop of past incidents where foreign business nationals would have breached the law and because of “political and state affiliation,” slipped through the cracks. One notable incident, he pointed out, was one several years ago where passports missing from the Central Immigration Office were found in the possession of some foreigners.
“Nothing has come out of that story. You haven’t heard anything more about that,” Witter said. “So while, they (Government) are translating the law and issuing it, there must be the will and the willingness to prosecute these persons.”
Witter indicated that as the country develops, more foreign nationals are finding themselves living here. During the 2007 Cricket World Cup, he said that many foreigners traveled to the country, with some opting to remain and startup small businesses. When doing such a thing, Witter said, it is the duty of the foreigners to acquaint themselves with the law.
When complaints are made against some of these business owners, “They say they were not aware of the law. Fact is,” Witter charged, “one has the obligation to at least try to know and understand the legislation. Ignorance of the law is no excuse,” he continued. He added, “The same way we see in the media the handing over, it is the same way we should see people being prosecuted for breaking the laws.”
Members of the Chinese community received earlier this week a translated version of the country’s labour laws.
Labour Minister Nanda Gopaul handed over the translated copies to President of the Chinese Association Mr. Shilong Chow, last week.
The government said that it is hoped that the distribution of the laws would pave the way for fewer complaints about labour violations. The compendium of translated laws contain- Leave with Pay Act, Restaurants Act, Shops Act, Licensed Premises and Conditions of Employment Act.
Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, said that the translation was needed as many Chinese nationals had been making queries and this mechanism was crafted to give clarity to both employers and employees on their rights.
Towards the end of last year, the Government also made available the Portuguese version of the country’s labour laws. With the growing number of Brazilians living and operating businesses in the country, it was noticed the Government said, the relevance to have the laws available in light of alleged legislation breaches.
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