Georgetown : The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security said that it has launched its Occupational Wages and Hours of Work Survey to gather relevant data from across various industries and occupations.
A press release from the Ministry indicates that the survey will be conducted until August 15, 2014 in all 10 administrative regions with the expectation of providing the relevant information essential to evaluating conditions of work and employment costs.
The Ministry acknowledges that wages of employees vary according to the level of education, skill, occupation, type of industry, size of establishment, and geographical location among other variables. As such, the data collection and analysis of wages and hours of work will enable effective career planning and counselling; facilitate efficient allocation of educational resources and overall educational planning; and provide data to potential investors, employers, workers and trade unions.
Using April as the reference month will see information being secured from businesses’ wages and salary sheets for that period. The survey will be conducted in compliance with the Laws of Guyana, Chapter 98:01 of which requires businesses to submit information on labour statistics to the Ministry of Labour.
Additionally, being a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Guyana has strongly supported the organisation’s progressive policies. As such the survey will also be conducted under the ILO Convention 160 and recommendation 170, which deal with labour statistics and the importance of countries ensuring that these types of statistics are regularly compiled.
The Ministry of Labour is assuring employers and employees that confidentiality stipulations will be strictly adhered to protect businesses participating in the survey. The final report will highlight trends in industries without identifying specific businesses. The Ministry is also urging businesses to participate to ensure a high response rate, which will allow for greater accuracy in the statistics reported.
