In a Labour Day statement, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) condemned the PPP administration for what it called the “continued betrayal” of the working class, declaring May Day 2025 as “another Labour Day in poverty” for Guyanese workers despite the country’s celebrated oil wealth.
“There is no respect from the [People’s Progressive Party] government and there is no hope for the future,” the PNCR said. “Labour Day 2025 only highlighted the growing hardships and struggles of Guyanese workers under a government that believes development is about bricks and concrete—not about people.”
Against the backdrop of a ballooning economy and billion-dollar infrastructure projects, the opposition accused the PPP of leaving workers behind, forcing them to “live from paycheque to paycheque” even as Guyana makes international headlines for its oil-fueled growth. According to the PNCR, the government’s approach has deepened inequality and ignored the core of national progress: labour.
Workers Left Behind in Oil Economy
Citing Article 21 of the Guyanese Constitution, which affirms that “the labour of the people” is the foundation of national wealth and well-being, the PNCR insisted that workers should be “well paid, valued, honoured, respected and celebrated.” Instead, the party charged, workers remain trapped in cycles of “destitution, economic insecurity, and hardship.”
The opposition drew a grim picture of Guyana’s workforce: stagnant wages, broken labour protections, and a government more interested in consolidating power than improving lives. “The rights of workers and their elected union representatives continue to be violated by a government obsessed with control and domination,” the release stated.
A Vision for 2026: Wages, Dignity, and Reform
While the tone was sharply critical, the PNCR also used the occasion to outline its alternative vision, promising that Labour Day 2026 would mark the beginning of a new era for Guyana’s workers under the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)-led leadership.
In that vision, the party pledged:
- Guaranteed living wages for all workers
- Higher household incomes
- Better working conditions
- Expanded social services
- A future built on dignity and inclusion
“Let us work together to make this happen,” the statement urged. “We can and must build Guyana into one of the best countries to live in.”
May Day Without Merriment
The PNCR’s message lands amid growing public concern about the disconnect between Guyana’s natural resource wealth and the economic reality faced by the majority of its citizens. While government officials tout the nation’s rapid GDP growth and infrastructure expansion, many workers say those gains have yet to touch their lives.
This year’s Labour Day saw limited celebration, replaced instead by protests, calls for wage justice, and renewed demands for collective bargaining rights. In that context, the PNCR’s message taps into a deep vein of frustration—and signals that labour rights will be a key political battleground as the next election looms.
“Fortunately,” the release closed, “this is the last Labour Day under the PPP government.”
