Monday was Labour Day in Guyana. That was supposed to be the only day that no one works in Guyana. But that is only in theory. Many people worked. They ranged from the minibus drivers to the taxi operators to the medical staff to security guards.
Maids and domestic employees also worked. Every category of these people need the money. The labour laws suggest that these people should be paid extra for working on a holiday. Whether this law is observed is not clear to some of us.
There are people working for just about anything because they believe that they cannot do better. Some people try to pursue two jobs because that is how the economic situation stands for many.
So there it was on the radio station, a bit of advice to children preparing to write National Grade Six Examinations. That examination used to be known by other names. Old people knew it as the Government County Scholarship. That later became Common Entrance.
The advice on the radio was for the children to have a solid breakfast so that they could concentrate on the examination paper. I smiled. The person offering the advice never considered that there are children who go to school hungry under normal circumstances.
One keeps hearing that Guyana would be the next Dubai. It could be in the field of importing labour, if only to boost the population. It could be if it is a case of showcasing the infrastructure. But it would certainly be no Dubai when it comes to human development.
On Monday, all the trade unions talked about earning a living wage. Even trade unions that support the government made the call for a living wage. With most people not owning their own homes they have to pay rent. That would account for more than half of their earnings.
Pity the household that has many children. At one time, many children were considered the poor man’s riches. In most cases they were. There were families that struggled to raise the children who later went on to make something of themselves.
They in turn helped drag their siblings and parents out of the clutches of poverty. Today’s children have a mountain to climb if they are to make it to adulthood. Most will not do so unscathed.
Take the case of the 12-year-old who witnessed his mother dying from nearly two dozen stabs. The man who was supposed to be his stepfather, the man to help provide for this boy’s future, killed his mother. Now this child is left to the mercies of big-hearted relatives.
One suspects that he would have been writing the National Grade Six examinations which begin today. Even if he does it does not take a stretch of imagination to anticipate his performance.
Over the past few years, the children who have done well at these examinations were those whose parents could have provided for them, even if it was a case of two meals per day. The hungry ones were those who go through the motion of attending school.
These would be the people who would be hard pressed to make a meaningful contribution to society. Indeed, there are some people who organise themselves into groups to help the less fortunate.
A group of women who appear to have adopted the children of Perseverance, East Bank Demerara, hosts functions to raise funds that would go toward providing for the welfare of these children.
These women on Monday outfitted these children with sports equipment. It was a joy to witness these children hosting their counterparts from Timehri at the Perseverance playground.
This playground is a government facility, but it is in a terrible state. Surely, money could be found by the state to upgrade this ground, transforming it from a bushy, weed-infested ground to an average sports facility for these children.
But there are those who are not so fortunate to be adopted by community workers. They generally gravitate to a life of crime. There is a video of a young man who attends the Leonora Secondary School kicking an elderly man behind his head, knocking him to the ground and walking away.
There is no knowledge of the community reaction. This is what is becoming of the children who do not have the good fortune of parents with the wherewithal to provide adequately for them.
In this supposedly oil-rich country one can see an increasing number of vendors, each knowing that all they would earn in a given day is enough to put food on the table.
So the issue of a living wage is real. The teachers who must help groom the children are still grossly underpaid. Nearly six months after President Irfaan Ali promised to give these teachers a salary adjustment, nothing has happened.
But the teachers continue to plod along. They are preparing children for life ahead in a country to holds so much promise. And except for marching in a trade union parade on Labour Day holding placards announcing their plight, they are not complaining.
Those who have control over this situation seem uncaring. And this is not a political issue because there are teachers across the political divide.
