GTUC president calls for cost of living subsidies

Last Updated on Sunday, 26 April 2026, 21:35 by Writer

President of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Norris Witter on Sunday said his confederation wants the government to introduce subsidies to ease the impact of rising cost of living largely due to major conflicts.

Shortly after joining other trade unionists on Sunday in laying wreaths at the Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow monument in the Parliament Building compound to usher in Labour Week, Mr Witter told reporters that the Russia-Ukraine war and the war in the Persian Gulf have combined to worsen supply chain problems and shortages of fossil fuel supplies as well as other products.

“You have what can be referred to as the invisible hand of the State by applying what may be referred to as subsidies in certain areas and, through those subsidies, you can stabilise at least prices of some basic commodities,” he said.

Mr Witter’s call for the government to provide subsidies comes as buses, taxis and domestic airlines have begun charging higher fares because of a spike in fuel prices.

The GTUC President said a raft of subsidies would require political will which the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration appeared not to have but instead was leaning to the West.

Instead, he suggested that the government should be more accommodating to different voices in Guyana.

Already, the government is subsidising the cost of fuel being purchased by the state-owned Guyana Power and Light, and the Guyana Water Incorporated to prevent those utility companies from charging consumers higher rates.

The taxes on gasoline and diesel have been removed by the government and the state-owned Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL) is selling its fuels at a lower price, serving as a price-setter for the privately-owned fuel importers and distributors.

For his part the veteran Guyanese trade unionist said many of his colleagues might be expecting employers to increase wages and salaries to cope with the cost of living and that the government had a major role to play.

“Even though the unions will have a right to engage the employers for meaningful increases, we must not lose sight of the fact that it is political managers who manage the national economy, who have that foremost responsibility to ensure that the kinds of policies and programmes are put in place to arrest the increase in the cost of living,” he said.

Recently, the former finance minister, Winston Jordan recommended that the government pay an interim salary increase from already budgeted monies, review the 2026 budget and cut expenditures on some projects.

He also criticised the government for not putting in place a fuel conservation education programme and crafting and implementing a policy to tackle price gouging.