Migrant Workers

Mar 15, 2025 Letters

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Dear Ms. /Mr. Editor,

On this very important topic of migrant workers, I wish to take the opportunity to recognize and applaud the government for finally listening to us who have been asking for this for quite a few years, especially since the new government of the PPP/C taking power in 2020. I recall having written a letter to the media which was published under letters to the Editor in Kaieteur News on August 5, 2023. I also recall that the Private Sector Commission had meetings with the government and had raised this important topic.

Bringing migrant workers into a country has both enormous positives as well as negatives. One of the negatives is that it could wipe out the Indigenous peoples of the land which imported the migrant workers and could cause social and behavioral problems in the nation. Therefore, serious laws need to be created for the protection of the migrant workers to prevent abuse and also to save the demographic, culture and national structure of our local population. I kindly ask that H.E the President, the Cabinet, the Private Sector Commission, the Chambers of Commerce, etc., to please note the following:

1. We need to study countries where migrant workers were taken to. Let us refer to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Arab countries. You may also refer to Israel, Canada, the USA and Europe. The laws governing migrant workers must be created with expediency and wisdom.
2. Without laws governing migrant workers and protecting the population ecosystem of Guyana, tremendous destruction socially, culturally and economic heartaches could occur.
3. Law enforcement needs to be seriously linked to the immigration and registration system concerning foreign workers.
4. Companies cannot just be allowed to bring in how many people they want, they all must be under a serious umbrella for the protection of the migrant workers, the protection of our laws and law enforcement. This is inclusive of the system of monitoring same. Migrant workers cannot just be allowed to live in the city or live wherever they wish. They should live in designated areas, or this could create some serious structural issues like housing, sewage system, consumption of water etc., this is why I am suggesting that the systems be studied from countries like Dubai, Abu Dhabi etc., Israel etc. It must be noted when migrant workers are brought in to work in Canada or the United States as field workers or to pick apples. They are brought in from certain countries like Jamaica to work for a few weeks or a few months, after which they have to depart.

One comes as a migrant worker and by law that person must remain a migrant worker. That person must return to their country at the end of their contract.

In Canada and the USA, the farmers and persons who bring in these migrant workers have basic housing provided for them and may include meals as they may have to work overtime. In the UAE, it is quite different, which is why I recommend that.  The UAE has special housing and areas created for them.

5. Say in Dubai which has a small population like us in Guyana in which the migrant workers are more than the native population, a serious social and law enforcement problem could occur if there are no proper control mechanisms.  Special transportation is usually provided to get them to their housing areas which have everything they need to survive, inclusive of supermarkets and stores.

Upon enquiring, I was made to understand if all those people were to come out into our small cities and towns, a logistical nightmare could be created. This may even affect hygiene, littering/mass littering, overcrowding in the streets etc. And overwhelming the healthcare system which has to be financed by the tax dollars of the citizens of this country, others must be allowed to pay their own taxes.

Housing:

1. In this situation, I would recommend that the government of Guyana provide some house lots for companies/persons who wish to bring migrant workers into the country. To construct livable dorms and in some cases flats for couples to create communities so they could live and socialize.
2. The employers/sponsors of the migrant workers are responsible for the construction of these buildings. The government should provide these lots at no cost or at very low cost, in order to make it easy to operate especially being in the embryonic stage of this venture. Further, building materials should be made VAT freeand Duty free for in the long run the entire nation would survive and enjoy.
3. A system has to be created in which they will be given a temporary TIN number, NIS/Social Security number. They cannot all just be employed as contractors, they are living in a country, enjoying the country, they will be making money in that country, sending out most of the money they make here with the little foreign exchange we have. Hence, they must pay the relevant taxes as all citizens of Guyana.
4. The fees for processing of migrant workers permit need to be cancelled or extremely minimal to cover the most basic costs. It is known in all of these casesemployers everywhere will have systems in place to recover their costs/investment(s).
5. With reference to number (4) above, from enquiries I made in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, at the end of their contract the company who employed them will provide a ticket to return home. However, if they decide to remain then that fee of repatriation is no longer required, and they would be allowed to work year to year as migrant workers. The status cannot and should not change after 3, 4 or 5 years. Reason being the point I made prior, our entire cultural, social structure and demographic could change or be wiped out.
6. Someone might consider the idea of bringing migrant workers who are refugees. Landless peoples who are looked down upon and shoved around without a state of their own, an example of such would be the Rohingya Muslims of Burmaoverwhelming Bangladesh. The same to be considered in certain African nations who are being marginalized, under constant threats, attacks, revolutions, civil wars.
7. It must also be understood that certain people will want to come and be refugees or whatever status, but they do not want to work. I have had a case whereby a refugee from Ethiopia was in the country. I heard of him, and I know how Ethiopia played an important part in saving Islam, so I offered him work. I gave him a job, a place to stay, then he started to behave as if he was entitled, doing things that were not decent in our home and our compound. So, they want to quickly jump into some form of business or do something which could disaffect this entire idea of migrant workers. This is one reason we have to be careful with where these people are being brought from as migrant workers.  We must bring people who are decent, not who are known for violence and constant overthrowing of their governments, prone to gangs etc. We have to try to bring people from societies that could blend in very easily in Guyana, for example many Guyanese look like people from Kenya and Uganda. When I saw them in Dubai, I thought they were Guyanese, also in some cases from Bangladesh and Rohingya.
8. In the USA when someone is employed as a domestic/housekeeper with the hope of getting a green card, they have to work for eight years.
9. Talking about UAE, I got to understand that the reason why they had to implement the laws to protect the migrant workers, it is because some employers were taking advantage of the migrant workers.

We must also have a serious National Register and control system, or they could become problematic for the peace of a nation. This is why I am suggesting the migrant worker who is brought into work should work by rules. For emphasis, let me give an example. Persons are brought in to drive and be trained for tourism. Then on the completion of their contract, they quickly move to buy vehicles and compete with the citizens, by dropping prices, working cheaply thus creating an entire economic confusion and nightmare. This is why migrant workers have to remain migrant workers. In Dubai and other such states that employ migrant workers, should they get a vehicle and try to compete with some employer or hoodwink the system and do their own transportation, it is 10 to 14 years imprisonment, in other words they should remain workers of the persons that brought them in. After five (5) years, they could switch employers, but they must remain workers at all times. Some people in some countries are known to try and hoodwink the system. So, they try to do that and there would be some serious imprisonment about 14 years jail time the guy told me, who was driving me from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

 

With all of the above in mind, there might be other points to consider. I am sure the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Labour will come up with excellent ideas and thoughts on this. I am also convinced that after this letter is published in the media, others will want to add ideas to it. I will forward to most ministries if not all within the government. This letter will go very far in the governmental and private sector structures in the country who may also want to make their own input, (e.g.) the Private Sector Commission, the Chambers of Commerce.

My appeal to employers who bring in migrant workers to always deal justly with workers and create systems and places of rest where they can be fairly comfortable and happy during their stay in Guyana. They should also have recreational places for exercise and fun.

I reiterate that migrant workers must remain as migrant workers. I know some may want to disagree with me but please think of the overwhelming and disappearing of ourselves as a people.

 

Sincerely,

Hajji Dr. Roshan Khan     

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