we are deeply concerned”.He said that for approximately two months

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The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is calling on the government to review its decision to do away with the Ministry of Labour.This call was made yesterday by PPP General Secretary, Clement Rohee, during the PPP weekly press conference at Freedom House Robb Street, Georgetown.Rohee’s basis for such a call was that in the absence of a Ministry of Labour, industrial matters are bound to remain unresolved by a government, “who, from all appearances, has placed labour/industrial relations at the lowest rung of the social ladder.”Rohee said that just as the Granger-led Administration has set up Commissions of Inquiry into the operations of the Ministries of Public Service and Education to correct perceived deficiencies; it must revisit its decision to do away with the Ministry of Labour.Specifically, Rohee called on the government to find a solution to the plight of the 83 former employees of Toucan Communications Inc. – the Linden based Call Centre.Rohee demanded that the solution must be to the satisfaction of the workers and consistent with the manifesto promise of the APNU+AFC to provide a ‘good life’ for all Guyanese.According to Rohee, since the APNU+AFC coalition entered office, “all workers have heard from Government officials are platitudes to the effect that the off-shore Company ‘must pay’; ‘the government is trying its best’; and ‘we are deeply concerned”.He said that for approximately two months, these “empty exhortations” have meant nothing to the workers whom Government appears to have abandoned.  Rohee added that he feels that utterances such as “it is a private enterprise matter” serves as a pretext for the government to “drag its feet on the matter.”Further, Rohee said, “The PPP understands that the matter was already dropped like a hot potato by several government Ministers since it proved to be an insurmountable challenge for them and was shunted off to the Office of the President.  The Party was reliably informed that the issue was to be discussed at a Cabinet meeting but nothing was heard of since.Meanwhile the Regional Chairman appears to be at his wits end to put a spin on these efforts to find a solution to the plight of the workers.Rohee added that government’s “callous” attitude towards workers’ compensation, and industrial relations will do more harm than good to the economy which is already experiencing serious problems at the commercial and manufacturing levels. Hundreds of workers in both sectors have been laid off.Rohee demanded that the government heeds the call of the Guyanese workers and farmers who are the producers of the wealth in which we all share.He said, “Lincoln Lewis, David Hinds, Simona Broomes and Volda Lawrence who all pretend to be friends of the working people and who promised them a ‘good life’ must speak out on this matter and have it settled in favour of the workers.”