[www.inewsguyana.com] – Officials from Guyana are slated to attend the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labour of the Organisation of American States, which will be held in Washington DC from September 29-October 01 after a seven-year absence.
According to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, Cabinet was briefed on the Conference by Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence, where it was noted that Guyana’s absence could have resulted in the country being sanctioned by the International Labour Organisation.
“Cabinet was concerned that the previous administration had not participated in these conferences for the past seven years. Now Guyana is being confronted with the possibility of being sanctioned by the International Labour Organisation (ILO),” Harmon said.
According to the Minister, Cabinet is fully behind Minister Lawrence, who will attend the meeting, along with the Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, and it is the intention of the government to have them convey Guyana’s commitment to the ILO.
The Washington, DC meeting will serve as a preparatory for the meeting that will take place on November 18-19, in Cancun Mexico, where matters will be taken to a more serious level. Guyana is a member of the ILO, which was founded in 1919, in response to a destructive war.
The ILO seeks to champion a vision, based on the premise that universal, lasting peace can be established, only if it is based on social justice. The ILO became the first specialized agency of the UN in 1946.
