Submitted by Guyana Honorary Consulate
Do your job and assist your Guyanese employees !
That’s the message the Guyana Honorary Consul in Barbados, Norman Faria, is sending to certain employers here following reports to his office of Guyanese expressing worries about processing of their work permits.
Faria, in a letter written last week to Harry Husbands, the Executive Director of the umbrella group Barbados Employers Confederation, also urged sections of Barbadian small business sector to pay more attention to their personnel departments. He argued that this, and better bookkeeping, would enhance the efficiency and profitability of their firms.
“There are of course firms that deal most professionally with all their employees and we must commend the generally progressive and vibrant nature of the Barbados private sector, but the Consulate is nevertheless concerned about the high number of reports to their Consul by workers questioning difficulties they are experiencing at the Immigration Department, in particular when renewing their work permits. In most cases, when I ask them what is their employer doing to assist , the Guyanese tell me they have to do everything . This is causing considerable stress and worry for my people, since they always try to follow the rules and do not wish to be undocumented,” wrote Faria in his letter last week …
“The Consulate assists where it can, but it is the interests of the firms to make inquiries particularly for their employees on work permits. The Guyanese, for whom I speak, are giving them good and honest labour and faithful service for many years in building up the Barbadian economy but in return they are told to fend for themselves in these matters. The firms had to approve and sign the work permit application forms in the first place, so why no follow up ? Some of these firms have big personnel departments with several employees. They have to shape up and do their job,” he urged in his correspondence to Mr. Husbands.
The Guyanese Consul also charged that “an alarmingly high number” of these reports cite small businesses apparently paying scant attention to the importance of personnel sections. “True, they may not have the staff nor resources for seperate sections but if you are demanding of employees to bring in all sorts of documents such as police clearance and recomendations and the worker giving his/her best for many years, there must be a recipocal giving and assisting when the worker is experiencing difficulties and worry in cases such as having the work permit processed. In some cases, there is no proper book keeping. Incredibly, some of these firms don’t even issue pay slips, listing deductions, when paying workers. All of this is wrong , not in keeping with modern day business practices, and needs to be corrected,” said Faria who also copied his letter to the Barbados Small Business Association.
Faria commended the “relatively progressive and vibrant nature” of the Barbadian private sector in general and thanked those Barbadian firms and individuals for their doing business, including investing, in Guyana.
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