National Employment Report Guyana
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT GUYANA i Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Geographic profile 1 1.2 Projections for 2006 2 2 Performance by Sectors 3 2.1 Sugar 3 2.2 Rice 3 2.3 Mining and Quarrying 4 2.4 Gold 4 2.5 Diamond 4 2.6 Manufacturing Sector 4 2.7 Services Sector 4 2.8 Investment Levels and Interest Rates 5 2.9 Interest Rates 5 2.10 Stability 5 2.11 Consumer Price Index 6 2.12 Investment levels and Interest Rates 7 2.13 Employment: structure, growth and quality 8 2.14 GDP growth and employment 10 2.15 Education and employment 11 2.16 Real Wages: minimum wages and occupational/sectoral wages 12 2.17 Income and wages 15 2.18 Social profile 16 2.19 Crime 22 3 Summary of macro-economic objectives and policies 23 3.1 Macro-economic policies for economic growth 24 3.2 Fiscal Policy 24 3.3 Monetary Policies 25 3.4 Balance of Payments 25 ii 3.5 Investment in Human Capital- Education 25 3.6 Health 26 3.7 Infrastructure to support services 26 3.8 Safety Nets 26 3.9 Infrastructure to Support Growth 26 3.10 Government Policies 27 3.11 Overview of major ongoing\planned public and private investments programmes 30 4 The Labour Market: trends, issues and policies 30 4.1 Institutional structure for employment policies and labour market policies 31 4.2 The Labour Market: Structure and Growth 32 4.3 Demographics 32 4.4 Structure and growth of employment 35 4.5 Unemployed and underemployment: characteristics and recent trends 35 4.6 Informal sector 36 4.7 Gender aspect 36 4.8 Report on activities to eradicate child labour in Guyana 36 4.9 Child labour report 37 4.10 Migrant workers (both in and out migration) 39 4.11 The Informal Sector 40 4.12 Incomes in the informal sector 40 4.13 Productivity 40 4.14 Wage and other income inequality 40 4.15 Social protection 40 4.16 Industrial relations 43 4.17 Mission and Function of the Labour Department 43 4.18 Man-days lost 2000–2004 44 4.19 Strikes 45 4.20 Trade union recognition 45 4.21 Collective labour agreements 46 4.22 Labour market reform: problems, objectives, policies, measures, impact 46 4.23 Underemployment 46 4.24 Employment problems identified: urgency and impact 46 5 Policy responses to labour market problems 46 iii 5.1 Ongoing programmes aimed at the working poor 49 5.2 Ongoing programmes aimed at the elimination of the worst forms of child labour 49 5.3 Gender policies and the labour market 49 5.4 Policies aimed at other labour market problems identified 49 5.5 Labour exchange Issues 49 5.6 Ongoing programmes aimed at the labour market reform 51 6 Conclusions 53 6.1 Impact of macro-economic, social & labour market policies 53 6.2 Programmes on employment in the short and medium term 53 6.3 The integration of policies and programmes 53 6.4 The gaps and areas of institutional collaboration 54 6.5 Major employment/labour market problems 54 6.6 Areas for institutional labour market reforms 54 6.7 Impact of ongoing policies and programmes 54 7 Recommendations 55 7.1 Solve inconsistencies 55 7.2 Strengthen linkages with macro-economic and social policies 55 7.3 Need to design & adjust policy responses and/or resources allocated 55 8 Statistical annex 55 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Guyana Selected Interest Rates (Percent Per Annum)...................................................................... 7 Table 2: Employed persons by sex and economic activity (Year???) ............................................................ 8 Table 3: Employed personsby sex and occupation (2001) ............................................................................. 9 Table 4: Labour Force Indicators ................................................................................................................. 10 Table 5: Employment and growth ................................................................................................................ 11 Table 6: Real Wage 1999-2005.................................................................................................................... 12 Table 7: Minimum wage 1999-2005 (G$).................................................................................................... 12 Table 8: Average basic wages paid in some occupations in Guyana 2004/05.............................................. 13 Table 9: Sample of daily wages 2005......................................................................................................... 13 Table 10: Weekly wages paid in selected occupations (G$)2005 ............................................................... 13 Table 11: Average hours worked in selected sectors.................................................................................... 15 Table 12: Employment cost (G$) ................................................................................................................. 16 Table 13: Ministry of Education expenditure from 1999–2005 (G$)........................................................... 17 Table 14: Graduates from University of Guyana.......................................................................................... 18 Table 15: Caribbean Examination Council regional analysis of passes ....................................................... 18 Table 16: Comparative analysis of the SSEE 2000-2004............................................................................. 19 Table 17: Illiteracy rate of persons aged 15 yrs and over............................................................................. 19 Table 18: Secondary education drop-outs .................................................................................................... 20 Table 19: Secondary education drop-outs .................................................................................................... 20 Table 20: Ministry of Health expenditure from 1999–2005.........................................................................21 Table 21: Infant Mortality Rate 2000-2004.................................................................................................. 21 Table 22: Life Expectancy at Birth............................................................................................................... 21 Table 23: Ministry of Housing Expenditure from 1999–2005 ..................................................................... 21 Table 24: House lots distributed and houses built ........................................................................................ 21 Table 25: Ministry of Home Affairs Expenditure from 1999–2005 Guyana Police Force (Crime) ............. 23 Table 26: Report of Serious Crimes Committed from 2000-2005................................................................ 23 Table 27: Projected growth and replacement employment in key sectors: 1998-2007 ................................ 32 Table 28: Age Dependency Ratio................................................................................................................. 33 Table 29: Median Age................................................................................................................................. 33 Table 30: Population according to age groups.............................................................................................. 34 Table 31: Number of self employed registrants 1998-2002 .........................................................................41 Table 32: Active Employees Registered With the NIS. ............................................................................... 41 Table 33: Benefit payments in 2001/2002.................................................................................................... 43 Table 34: Strikes 2000 - 2004....................................................................................................................... 45 Table 35: Strikes and man-days and wages lost in 2004 .............................................................................. 45 Table 36: Collective labour agreements by type (Year) ............................................................................... 46 Table 37: Projects facilitated by GOINVEST .............................................................................................. 47 Table 38: Loans approved according to industries ....................................................................................... 47 Table 39: Loans distributed according to gender.......................................................................................... 48 Table 40: Summary result of loan activities of IPED 2000-2004................................................................. 48 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Investments.......................................................................................................... 7 Figure 2: Man-days lost .................................................................................................... 45 v vi 1. Introduction 1.1. Geographic profile Guyana, with an area of 83,000 square miles or 215,000 square kilometres, is located on the northern coast of South America, and is the only English speaking country on that continent. It is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by Suriname, on the South and South-West by Brazil, and on the west and north-west by Venezuela. Guyana is physically divided into four types of landforms: (i) flat coastal, clayed belt which is about 4.5 feet below sea level, and in which most of its agricultural activity occurs (ii) a sand belt, to the south of the coastal belt, which includes the Intermediate Savannahs (iii) an undulating,