Shore Base employees working beyond national annual working hours – GAWU

− GYSBI says accusations unwarranted and unfounded

Locals who are employed at Guyana Shore Base Incorporated (GYSBI) are made to work beyond the national annual working hours. This is according to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) which pointed out that the workers are forced to work 43 per cent more than the national hours for work.
The Union, in a press statement, said that it became aware of this situation after its oil and gas division engaged several GYSBI workers who were reportedly sacked for going public about being paid less than expat workers for doing the same job.
“Our discussions were quite revealing and assisted us in better understanding their situation. The workers explained they were contracted to work twelve and a half hours daily over 14 consecutive days. Following that stint, they are afforded a week off though they shared they were on call at any time,” a statement from GAWU said on Friday.
However, GAWU noted that the workers’ contract did not indicate whether they benefitted from any overtime pay bearing in mind the national 40-hour work week. GAWU added that from its computations, assuming a worker is not called out during their week off, workers’ working time would amount to 2975 hours annually.
The Union pointed out, “To understand the gravamen of the situation, ordinarily workers would work 2,080 hours per annum. Whereas the workers at the shore base work some 43 per cent more than the standard working hours. To the best of our knowledge, we are unaware of workers working such long periods consistently”.
Moreover, GAWU said that when overtime pay is factored, disregarding holidays, workers should be paid for 3995 hours of work. “On weekends, the workers, when overtime is considered, work more than 40 hours in just two days. If indeed their salaries account for the substantial hours, it gives them a vivid idea of what they are earning on an hourly basis.”
According to GAWU, in many organised workplaces, workers enjoy other benefits such as meal allowances or transportation. But GAWU noted that GYSBI workers disclosed that they did not receive such benefits. The Union added that workers also lamented the attitude of certain senior personnel who they said, it appeared, held no respect for them.
“Clearly, the workers are heavily overworked and not receipt of benefits which their contemporaries in other sectors benefit from. It speaks to the plight of the unorganised workforce in Guyana and the need to address their situation,” the press statement ended.
GYSBI has since dismissed reports of the company underpaying local workers for doing the same job as foreigners. The Guyanese workforce work on a tiered pay structure, and those employees first come in at a standard salary, which is benchmarked against the industry average.
“GYSBIs internal training and development programs, as well as the company’s performance management system, allows employees to continue improving their skills, and those who engage these programs are given the opportunity for promotion and development when available.”
The statement continued, “Throughout this tiered structure, GYSBI helps its employees achieve world-class standards that deliver top service quality to its customers and help keep all our employees safe so they can return home to their families.”
According to GYSBI, expat employees who work there are individuals who would have spent many years working in the oil and gas industry in many countries across the world and are only hired when specialty skills or experience are contractually or legally required.
“Expats bring their international experiences which are used to train locals, transfer skills and technology, and more importantly, transfer international standards to Guyana’s fledgling oil and gas industry. GYSBI is currently expanding its operations and its facilities and plans to increase its Guyanese employees to over 600 within the next two years,” the release added.
GYSBI highlighted that it is a Guyanese company working hard to improve the lives of its 432 employees and the country of Guyana. Out of its total employees, GYSBI revealed that 25 or six per cent are expats. The company was keen to note that 94 per cent of its workforce are Guyanese who hold key senior management positions. GYSBI, therefore, pointed out “indeed the remuneration our employees enjoy is above all legal requirements.”