$1.7B allocated to labour ministry to strengthen workforce and industrial relations

An estimated $1.7 billion was approved by the Committee of Supply on Wednesday for the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning.

While discussing the Budget 2026 estimates, Minister of Labour and Manpower Planning, Keoma Griffith, highlighted that the Government of Guyana is providing various opportunities to educate and upskill people.

The minister said that the government will continue to build out a system to ensure that every person across Guyana has access to world-class education at every level.

Minister Griffith noted that, as it pertains to his Ministry, the vision is to decentralise all of the training that is currently available.

“There is also the central recruitment agency of the ministry that seeks to ensure that we allow persons to get decent employment, and so we will just continue to train and decentralise our training”, the minister highlighted.

Additionally, for Manpower Planning, the budget allocation is $791,326.

Moreover, answering a question by an Opposition member on the allocation for trade unions, Minister Griffith explained that the Guyana Public Service Union will receive $1,297,297, while the Guyana Teachers Union(GTU) will receive $1,297,297.