2nd Sitting October 1980

Transcription

1 2nd Sitting October 1980 T H E P A R L IA M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S O F F IC IA L R E P O R T S / V o lu m e 0 7 ] P R O C E E D IN G S A N D D E B A T E S O F T H E F IR S T S E S S IO N ( ) O F T H E T R A N S IT IO N A L N A T IO N A L A S S E M B L Y O F T H E T H IR D P A R L IA M E N T O F G U Y A N A U N D E R T H E C O N S T IT U T IO N O F G U Y A N A. 2nd S itting 14:00 h rs F rid a y, 2 4 th O cto b er, 1980 M E M B E R S O F T H E N A T IO N A L A S S E M B L Y (6 2 ) Cde. Sase N arain, O.R., J.P., Speaker Speaker Members o f the Government - People s National Congress (45) Prime M inister (1) Cde. P.A. Reid, O.E., Prim e M inister Senior M inisters (11) Cde. H.D. H oyte, S.C., M inister o f Econom ic D evelopm ent and Co-operatives Cde. S.S. N arain, A.A., M inister o f W orks and Transport Cde. B. Ram saroop, M inister o f Parliam entary A ffairs and leader o f the House Cde. C.V. M ingo, M inister o f H om e Affairs *Cde. H. Green, M inister o f Health, H ousing and Labour *Cde. H.O.Jack, M inister o f Energy and N atural Resources *Cde. F.E. Hope, M inister o f Finance *Cde. G.B. K ennard, C.C.H., M inister o f A griculture *Cde. M. Shah abuddeen, O.R., S.C., A ttorney General and M inister o f Justice *Cde. R.E. Jackson, M inister o f Foreign Affairs *Cde. J.A. Tyndall, A.A., M inister o f Trade and Consumer Protection *Non-elected Ministers 1

2 M inisters (2) Cde. O.E. Clarke, M inister - Regional (East Berbice/Corentyne) Cde. C.A. N ascim ento, M inister, O ffice of the Prim e M inister M inisters o f State (10) Cde. F.U.A. C arm ichael M inister o f State - Regional (Rupununi) Cde. P. Duncan, J.P., M inister o f State - Regional ( North W est) Cde. K.B. Bancroft, J.P., M inister o f State - Regional (M azaruni/potaro) Cde. J.P. C hw ritm ootoo, J.P., M inister o f State - Regional (Essequibo Coast/W est Dem erara) Cde. J.R. Thomas, M inister o f State, M inistry o f Education, Social D evelopm ent and Culture Cde. R.H.O. Corbin, M inister o f State for Youth and Sport, M inistry o f N ational D evelopm ent Cde. S. Prashad, M inister o f State - Regional (East Demerara/W est Coast Berbice) Cde. R.C. Van Sluytm an, M inister o f State, M inistry o f A griculture *Cde. F.U.A. Cam pbell, M inister o f State for Inform ation, M inistry o f N ational D evelopm ent *Cde. H. Rashid, M inister o f State, O ffice o f the prim e M inister Parliamentary Secretaries (6) Cde. M.M. John, C.C.H., Parliamentary Secretary, Office o f the Prime M inister and Government C hief W hip Cde. E.L. Am brose, Parliam entary Secretary, M inistry o f A griculture Cde. M. Corrica Parliamentary Secretary, M inistry o f education, Social Development and Culture Cde. E.M. Bynoe, Parliam entary Secretary, M inistry o f Trade and Consumer Protection (Absent - on leave) *Non-elected Ministers Cde. C.E. W rights, J.P., Parliam entary Secretary, M inistry o f Econom ic D evelopm ent and Co-operatives Cde. J.G. Ramson, Parliamentary Secretary, M inistry o f W orks and Transport 2

3 Other M embers (15) Cde. W.G. Carrington, C.C.H. Cde. S.M. Field-R idley Cde. E.H.A. Fow ler Cde. J. Gill Cde. W Hussain Cde. K.M.E. Jonas Cde. P.A. Rayman Cde. A. Salim, C.C.H. Cde. E.M. Stoby J.P. Cde. S.H.Sukhu, M.S. Cde. C. Sukul, J.P. Cde. H.A. T aylor Cde. H.B. W alcott, J.P. Cde. L.E. W illem s Cde. M. Zaheeruddeen M em bers o f the Opposition (16) ( i ) Peoples Progressive Party (14) Minority Leader (1) Cde. C. Jagan, M inority Leader Deputy Speaker (1) Cde. Ram Karran, Deputy Speaker Other M embers (12) Cde. J. Jagan Cde. Reepu Daman Persaud, J.P., Opposition C hief W hip Cde. Narbada Persaud Cde. C. Collym ore Cde. S.F. M oham ed Cde. I. B asir Cde. C.C. Belgrave Cde. R. A lly Cde. Dalchand, J.P. Cde. Dindayal Cde. H. N okta Cde. P. Sukhai ( ii ) Liberator Party Mr. M.F. Singh, J.P. Mr. M.A. A braham OFFICERS C lerk o f the N ational A ssem bly - F.A. N arain, A.A. Deputy Clerk o f the N ational A ssem bly - M.B. Henry PRAYERS 3

4 :05 hrs Transitional National Assembly 2:05-2 :1 5 p.m. PUBLIC BU SIN ESS BILLS - SECOND A N D THIRD READ ING S HOUSEHOLD SERVICE W ORKERS (HOURS OF W ORK) BILL 1980 A Bill intituled: "A n A ct to regulate the w orking hours o f household service w orkers and for purpose connected therewith." /The M inister o f Health, Housing and Labour./ The M inister o f Health, H ousing and L abour(cde. Green): Cde. Speaker, I beg to m ove that the H ousehold Service W orkers (H ours o f W ork) Bill 1980, No. 17 o f 1980 and published on the 8th O ctober this year b e n ow read a Second time. This Bill had its origin since this G overnm ent took office and really is the beginning o f the end o f a period that has to deal w ith a category o f w orkers that for years have not had any legal recognition and have worked in a fram ew ork w here there w ere no arrangem ents by the G overnm ent or by any statutory body to deal with their problems. It is perhaps useful to see this Bill as com ing out o f that R eport I referred to w hich w as known as the Report o f the Cam pbell Com m ittee. It w as the H ousehold Service W orkers Com m ittee appointed by this G overnm ent in N ovem ber o f It w as appointed under section 7 o f the L abour Ordinance. That Com m ittee did som e useful w ork and am ong the things it recom m ended w as to enquire into the conditions o f em ploym ent and w ages o f household service workers, w ho were referred to as " D om estics" at the tim e, w ho w orked in private hom es, guest houses and hotels. The C om m ittees w as also charged with the responsibility to m ake recom m endations in a general w ay for the im provem ent o f these w orkers. This R eport w as subm itted to the then G overnor General in A ugust o f 1966 and in M arch o f the follow ing year it w as laid before this honourable House. The recom m endations o f the Com m ittee on the matters that relate to it continue to attract the attention o f Governm ent, the trade union m ovem ent and other organisations since then. The M inistry itself m ade a num ber o f recom m endations to C abinet and som e o f those recom m endations today are really out o f date and alm ost not necessary for m e to repeat except to say that because o f the peculiarity o f the category o f w orkers w e are talking about there w ere both legal and technical difficulties that w e had to cope with. In fact, the Com m ittee dealt w ith w ages for hotel w orkers and guest houses in a particular w ay and in 1978 in this very H ouse the M inister o f L abour brought - and it is now part o f our law - a schedule o f recom m endations w hich dealt w ith that particular category, people w ho worked in hotels as cooks, maids, waitresses, bell-boys. W e also took into account a category called trainee waiters. W e also had to cope w ith another problem and w e included at that tim e in 1978 people who w orked in retail spirit shops as vendors and barm en. W e also included at that tim e people w ho w orked in taverns and since, because o f our background and history, w e identified in 1978 another category of persons, those w ho worked in w hat w e call restaurants, cook-shops and parlors and, as you know, w e now have minim um w ages for those persons and hours o f w ork and certain conditions that the em ployers are expected to adhere to, like keeping proper registers and so forth. The C om m ittee, appointed in 1965, recom m ended for those groups o f w orkers - those in private hom es, guest houses and hotels and up to the present w e have not done anything specifically about persons whom w e call household service w orkers w ho w ork in private homes. This Bill is intended to deal with that category and even though this Bill is m erely the beginning o f w hat I believe is a series of 4

5 :05-2 :15 p.m. events and steps to bring ju stice to those persons w e call dom estics, in the circum stances w hich I will outline in a m inute, w e have done w hat I believe is the w ise and proper thing to do at this time. The provision proposed, Cde. Speaker, attem pts to provide for a 48 hour w orking w eek for household service w orkers and to grant overtim e paym ent at the rate o f one and h alf tim es the hourly rate for w ork done in excess o f the 48 hours. It also attem pts to grant to these persons a day o ff each week. The Bill also provides for regulations to be m ade from tim e to tim e w here w e will deal w ith the details like ensuring that the em ployers keep a proper register. N aturally a penalty is attached to those employers who do not conform to these regulations when approved. Perhaps it is useful to note that on the record it seem s that this category w as ignored from the tim e these reports were given, but in term s o f G uyana under the leadership o f the People s N ational Congress, things have changed substantially in some areas for the group o f people w ho are prim arily engaged in this activity. In our cultural milieu I believe the m ajority, if not a hundred per cent, o f household service workers or dom estics are w om en. In certain countries this w ork is perform ed adm irably by men. For example, I recall when I w as in Tanzania I visited a friend and the person in charge o f the household, perform ing the duties o f cooking and looking after the house, w as a man and I w as very im pressed with the quality o f his work. In G uyana, however, because o f our history and our background this was always work assigned to our women. 2:15 p.m. It w ould be interesting to note that - and I can anticipate som e o f the observations that will be m ade this afternoon - w e have not attem pted to deal w ith w ages, and I will explain w hy very shortly. W om en have been entering in larger num bers the jo b m arket in other categories o f em ploym ent and m any m ore opportunities are now available to our wom enfolk. In fact, Cde. Speaker, thanks to the initiative taken by the W om en s R evolutionary Socialist M ovem ent and other agencies, m any o f our w om en have quite recently been trained to function as drivers, m echanics, masons, and plum bers, and in other areas and they have been w orking quite well. There are some problem s but that is not for this afternoon s debate. In fact, even though it is necessary for this category o f w orkers to function in our society, it is im portant to note that a lot o f our wom en have other opportunities. The figures in 1970 suggested that only 18.6 per cent o f our w om enfolk w ere in the norm al jo b arena. A t the end o f 1977 the figure was 28.8 per cent. I am happy to note and to report to this honourable H ouse that thanks to this training and initiative taken by the party in G overnm ent, the figures w e have at the end o f 1979 suggest close to 30 per cent o f our w orkforce are wom en and they occupy positions at various levels. W e have fem ale Perm anent Secretaries. Even in this honourable H ouse w e have a representative gathering o f w orking women. If one were to take the example o f one o f our recent industries, the Sanata Textiles M ill, w hat w orries som e o f us in the adm inistration is that the wom en have m ade such trem endous progress that in that new industry - and perhaps that may be an indication about the future and for other industries - w e have a com plete reversal o f the norm al pattern. The M anager assures m e that about 60 per cent, that is more than h alf the workforce, o f that new industry consist o f our wom enfolk. W e have, therefore, ju st to repeat, to settle the question o f the hotel w orkers and other places. I w ish to say that a num ber o f other things happened since that Report 5

6 :15-2 :25 p.m. w as examined and tabled in The G overnm ent has not stood still and as a result o f the National Insurance Scheme - perhaps this Bill will ensure that all em ployees o f household service w orkers ensure that they are contributing and participating in the N ational Insurance Schem e because I believe that every dom estic and household service w orker in this country qualifies to join and to participate in the N ational Insurance Scheme. The qualifications for entry to the N ational Insurance Scheme are that the person m ust earn no less than $7.50 per w eek, that he m ust w ork a m inim um o f tw enty hours or m ore per w eek, and that he should be between the ages o f 16 and 60. From our know ledge, therefore, I believe that all o f our household service w orkers qualify to be participants in the N ational Insurance Scheme. That scheme, as w e all know, provides for a num ber o f benefits, o f w hich the household service w orkers can be the recipient and these include sickness benefits, benefits in case o f injury, funeral benefits, benefits for invalidity, old age, and the attendant benefits for the dependants and the survivors in case o f their prem ature demise. O f course, I alm ost forgot that it includes maternity benefits. Therefore, as w e present this Bill w hich is m erely the first step o f a num ber o f things w hich need to take place, w e urge those persons w ho are both em ployees and em ployers to ensure that w orkers in this category not only now, for the first tim e, w ork specific hours and earn overtim e at the end o f that period, but that they participate in the National Insurance Scheme which is available to all. The earlier Com m ission and Com m ittee did attem pt to recom m end w ages for workers in this category in private homes. Perhaps w e can be criticised in presenting this Bill for ignoring and not attem pting to include specifically the question o f w ages and to suggest a m inim um wage. W e are realists, w e recognise the constraints and difficulties and the peculiar circum stances, and w e have deliberately avoided that for the tim e being. B ut the m atter w ill continue to engage the attention o f the M inistry o f L abour and other agencies and at proper tim e, when the circum stances perm it, w e shall not fail to m ake it, as w e did w ith hotels, cookshops, and other categories, part o f our law and legal system. T hat earlier C om m ittee recom m ended tw o categories o f salaries for skilled and unskilled. W hen the M inistry exam ined it there w ere all sorts o f difficulties in term s o f identifying w ho is a skilled cook and w hat is a skilled m aid and w ho is an unskilled maid, a skilled cleaner, gardener or a babysitter. Incidentally, the legislation covers categories o f persons w ho also function as babysitters, and persons w ho look after children. W e have not included, therefore, the question o f a m inim um wage. The M inistry o f Labour will continue to be a m onitoring agency and as w e have been doing from tim e to time, persuade people to pay w ages com m ensurate w ith the services they receive and w hat they can reasonably be expected to afford. W e are am ong tw o or perhaps three Caribbean countries that have attem pted to introduce legislation to deal w ith this category o f w orker. In Jam aica, for exam ple, I believe that in 1970 they introduced a m inim um w age for this category o f w orker w ith great pom p and cerem ony. B ut as perhaps is known to those o f us fam iliar w ith the situation, it resulted in m ass retrenchm ent and dism issals o f that category because som e o f the householders contended that since the m inim um w age prescribed for their helpers at hom e w as in some cases not too far away from the w ages o f the w orking m others and w ives and women, they merely dispensed with the services o f household helpers and did the work themselves. 6

7 Transitional National Assembly 2:25-2 :35 p.m. A nd in Jam aica w here this w as attem pted initially, w ithout first doing the ground-w ork as w e are attem pting to do, a large arm y o f people lost their jobs. The other result that w e found in som e countries is that the m inim um w age is honoured in the breach. 2:25 p.m. Cde. Speaker, w hat w e have done here today, w hat w e propose to do is a first step to deal w ith a group o f w orkers that w e feel for years have been the victim s o f one type o f exploitation or another. W e recom m end therefore this Bill to this honourable H ouse and I repeat, this action proposed today is but a continuing effort by the People s N ational Congress to bring ju stice to every group and to every category o f worker in the Co-operative Republic o f Guyana. /Applause../ Question Proposed. The Speaker: Hon. Member Mr. Feilden Singh. M r. M.F. Singh: Mr. Speaker, the Bill before us is entitled Household Service W orkers (H ours o f W ork) Bill The hon. M inister dealt at length w ith w hat had been done by the G overnm ent for wom en generally. That is all well and good. W hat w e are dealing w ith here is a specific issue, is a specific category o f worker, household service worker, which is defined as: "any person em ployed as a dom estic in any private residence, and includes children s nurses." It attempts to stipulate hours o f work etc. for this category of workers. W e w ant to exam ine how effective this Bill will be in respect o f carrying out the purpose set out in the explanatory m em orandum. W e do not object to the Bill per se but w e w ant to point out that the entire legislation in this Bill can be circumvented unless a minimum wage is prescribed by law. The Hon. M inister dealt in his closing rem arks w ith the reasons w hy this w as not done. W e do n ot accept those reasons. W e feel that there is sufficient ingenuity on the part o f the legal draftsm en. In the same w ay in w hich they can differentiate betw een skilled and unskilled in other categories, it can be done in this case also in my hum ble opinion. H owever, let us rem em ber that as long ago as in 1965, the C am pbell Com m ittee w as appointed; it reported in 1966; it gave specific recom m endations, the conditions o f w ork, status o f dom estic etc. For years, nothing has been done in respect o f that particular category. N ow on the eve o f an election w e have this piece o f legislation com ing before the H ouse but no enforceable minimum wage. W hat will be the obvious outcom e? A ll the em ployer has to do to circum vent this entire legislation is to reduce the basic wage, calculate the overtim e over and above the 48 hours so that he ends up paying the sam e am ount and there is no law at present available to stop him from doing this. There is no law to prevent him from paying, for exam ple, $5.00 per w eek and food to this really pitiable category o f employees. M r. Speaker, let m e give you an exam ple o f one category that I know about w here real exploitation is taking place. There are poor girls w ho com e from the hinterland areas; they com e down to G eorgetow n to w ork because life is so difficult in those areas. W hat happens? Som ebody collars them off; they are taken into a family. W hat kind o f w ages are they paid? I know o f cases w here all they get is food, some clothes and lodging. H ow do you calculate overtim e in those circum stances? They are paid no salary, m erely given food and clothes, place to sleep and when you go and ask about it, you are told that they are part o f the family. They are not really being paid or em ployed, they are part o f the fam ily circle. H ow does this Bill help that kind o f person? This type o f thing is rampant; it is going on all the 7

8 :25-2 :35 p.m. tim e. H ow do you calculate overtim e in such a case? In the absence o f any legally enforceable minim um w age w hat can I do; w hat can the Labour D epartm ent do in a case like that? I say, nothing. W e all know that the category o f w orker w hich w e are trying to deal w ith here is among the poorest and the m ost exploited. In my opinion, this legislation will m ake very little difference. Let m e quote figures and give an example. Suppose an em ployer at the present m om ent is w orking his em ployee 56 hours per w eek. All right, he is w orking the em ployee 8 hours m ore than the m inim um prescribed here. He is paying that em ployee $30 a w eek. Do you know w hat he will do before this com es into operation? W hat he will do is this, say to the em ployee, "I am reducing your w age from $30 to $24 per w eek." The em ployee used to w ork 56 hours. There is overtim e to be paid for eight hours at 75 cents an hour w hich am ounts to $6. So $24 reduced w age plus $6 overtim e com es back to the sam e $30. Legally, there is n ot a thing you can do about it in the absence o f legislation to the contrary. So w hat good is this? H ow does this help an em ployee like that? How does it help an em ployee in those circum stances? He ends up receiving the sam e w age but you can do nothing about it. M r. Speaker, this is good for election purposes but as I said it does not m ake a difference. Looking at the Bill itself, it does n ot m ake m uch difference w ith w hat will happen in respect o f the em ployee. The em ployee will still end up getting the sam e w age and the salary will be readjusted. A s I ju st said, I explained it all. There is nothing to prevent the em ployer from readjusting the salary, put a sm aller m inim um, give the rest in overtim e and end up paying the sam e thing. I gave the figure ju st now. M r. Speaker, I do not think that the hon. M inister can say that under Clause 9 there can be any regulations m ade to stop that because the regulations cannot deal with the m inim um wage. This w hole bill is about hours o f w ork and the regulations can deal only w ith hours o f work. N ew substantive legislation will have to be passed in this honourable House, to fix a legally enforceable m inim um w age before w e can really help this category o f w orkers. I do not w ant to m ake a big song and dance about it. I do not object to the Bill, but I say that it does not help very much. 2:35 p.m. Cde. J. Jagan: Cde. Speaker, this legislation w hich is before the H ouse deals only w ith the question o f m axim um hours o f w ork and sets out a 48 hour w eek w ith a full day o ff each week. This legislation, as the M inister h im self confessed in his m ost defensive and apologetic address to this House, has a history. The history to m y recollection begins w ith the 1964 elections when his party m ade a prom ise that it w ould rectify the position for dom estic w orkers. G rand prom ises w ere m ade o f w hat help w ould be given so that dom estic w orkers w ould not have to continue to punish. The outcom e o f that prom ise w as the setting up o f the C am pbell Com m ittee w hich, as he said, w as appointed in N ovem ber 1965 and there end the P.N.C. promises because that Report was submitted 14 years ago. August It took them a few m onths to lay it before this Parliam ent and from the tim e theses tw o occurrences took place - the com pletion o f the R eport and the handing over and the presentation to this House, nothing has been done until the publication o f this Bill on O ctober 11, W hat a shame! It has been pigeonholed. It has been literally put in the deep freeze and let m e say to this H ouse that it is n ot for w ant o f rem inding. The m em bers o f the P.N.C. have been rem inded over and over again that this Report exists and they m ust act on it. They cannot give an excuse that they forgot about it because 8

9 :35-2 :4 5 p.m. they were rem inded. I personally have raised this m atter - I cannot say how m any times. I never had a positive reply because they w ere dodging the issue and w e know w hy they w ere dodging the issue. N ot for the excuses given here but for the fact that m any o f their own supporters are the em ployers o f dom estics and they would have to dig deeper into their pockets to hand over som e m ore money to these exploited employees. On M arch 2nd, 1978, one o f m y colleagues, Cyril Belgrave, asked the question in this H ouse about a m inim um pay for dom estic w orkers. That is approxim ately tw o and h alf years ago and that question has not been answ ered because they cannot answ er it and so the question is, as the last speaker said, how effective can maxim um hours be w ithout a m inim um rate o f pay. W e have heard the excuse that perhaps they can be criticised for n ot having put in minim um w age b ut they claim they have these peculiar circum stances and it will continue to engage their attention. H ow m any tim es have w e heard those w ords? Y et these groups over here, the P.N.C., belabour u s w ith their ideology o f co-operative socialism, their adherence to all the tenets o f M arxism and Leninism. But let us look at little Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. W illiam s m akes no claim s to be a M arxist-leninist. Dr. W illiam s does not tell anyone that he is building a socialist society. No. He states w hat he is, w hatever that may be, but Dr. W illiam s and his G overnm ent in a non-socialist G overnm ent and certainly a nonsocialist atm osphere on N ovem ber 28, 1979, passed effective legislation o f w hich I have a copy here and ordered for m inim um w ages and term s and conditions o f service for household assistants m ade by the A ssistant M inister o f Labour. They have set out the w ages and they have done it like this: Full tim e household assistants for the year 1980 w ill be paid a w eekly w age o f $55 and in 1981 in Trinidad a household w orker will be paid $70 a week. Then they have done it in a different way. They have categorised part-tim e household assistants and they have set out hourly rates , $1.42 an hour; 1981, $1.70 an hour. They also state in the Bill - ju st one page, a very sim ple piece o f legislation m uch sim pler than ours. It states - H ours o f work: a 44 hour w eek, even better than this 48 hour w eek in this so-called " Socialist R epublic o f G uyana". A 44-hour w eek spread over six days. It is very clear. A person w ithout too much know ledge o f legal m atters, I am sure, could draft this. There is provision for vacation leave - 14 days a year. Everything on one page. A nother one: sick leave- 14 days sick leave per annum. It says " O ther M atters"- that the duties o f household assistants should be clearly set out in writing. You have the basic things set out here in the m ost sim ple language that any w orker can read. You d on t have to be a lawyer. M inim um w ages for this year, m inim um w ages per w eek, hourly w ages for part-tim e w orkers. It also sets out the overtim e hourly rate. Everything is set out here: overtim e hourly rate; the 44 -h o u r w eek, a six day week, holidays w ith pay and sick leave. So it can be done. W e can see it is not im possible to do, but instead w e have this gim m ick, the gim m ick at the zero hour. W hy did it take 14 years to toss up this sheet o f paper? W hy did it take 14 years and they could n ot produce w hat Trinidad produced a few months ago? It is amazing. So the fact rem ains that the G uyana dom estic w orkers are not being given a square deal. A ttention is not being paid to their needs. The Cam pbell Com m ittee sat down and belaboured and presented w hat at that tim e w as a pretty good report. I cannot really recall all the details o f the Report but I do recall that at that period - things have changed now - it w as all right, and if it had not been stuck in a pigeon-hole or put in the deep freeze perhaps decent legislation could have com e out o f the Report and w e w ould not have to sit and listen to all the puerile excuses that have been presented w ith this Bill. O ne would im agine that in 14 years w e could have som ething better. There is a radio program m e " From W ord to W ord. " W e are now "From Election to Election". From the 64th election right up to the 9

10 :35-2 :45 p.m. com ing one, it has taken them all this tim e not even to fulfill a prom ise but to partially fulfill a prom ise that will probably not w ork at all because the m axim um hours o f w ork cannot stand alone unless they have the foundation of a m inim um wage. The Speaker: Cde. Minister. Cde. Green (replying): Cde. Speaker, the Bishop o f H ereford w as once being patronised by a certain Lord o f the English C ourt and the Lord boasted that he never w ent to Church. The Bishop said to him angrily, "W hy do you not go to Church? I have noticed you have been absent for a long tim e." The Lord said, The reason I don t go to Church is because there are too m any hypocrites and there is too m uch hypocrisy there." The Bishop said "Oh, do not let that keep you away, there is always room for another. 2:45 p.m. Cde. Speaker, I listened to the tw o m em bers o f the M inority Group, and, 10

11 :45-2 :55 p.m. perhaps, Cde. Speaker, w e need to rem ind them that the new Constitution provides for a m inority group. (Interruption). The intention, Cde. Speaker, is that they m ust n ot oppose everything for the sake o f opposing. They m ust recognise their new role under the Constitution as a m inority group to aid and to help us. W hat w e got is m erely the right to get up and oppose. I am glad to hear that the hon. M em ber M r. Singh is not opposing. B ut the hon. M em ber Cde. Janet Jagan m outhed alm ost the exact points m ade by the hon. M em ber, m y good friend - and perhaps that is an indication o f w hat w ill happen soon - M arcellus Feilden Singh. I w ould like to deal w ith the first point that has been belaboured because w hat w as said w as a lot o f theory. W e are dealing w ith a real situation. It is easy to quote Trinidad, but are the w orkers in Trinidad in fact getting w hat the law dem ands? W hat w orries m e - my god friend Fielden Singh alluded to people being brought from the hinterland and exploited by the people on the coast. The m em bers o f his small group, are the architects o f that system. Some m em bers o f the clergy are the persons w ho have encouraged it for years. My good friend Phillip Duncan will support me on this question. Secondly, som e o f the m erchants w ho support the People s Progressive Party, even now that we have legislation, are those w ho get the girls to sign for $10 and give them $5. They know that. I have spoken, Cde. Speaker, not apologetically. I am not apologising. I dealt w ith a real and serious situation and to say that nothing has been done is either to suggest that the com rades are deliberately not understanding or are not capable o f understanding. L et me again repeat w hat I said. I m ade the point that since this G overnm ent took office a large arm y o f wom en w ho norm ally could only find em ploym ent as dom estic assistants and as household service w orkers have been trained and have found other jobs. T hat is the point I made. So do n ot say we have done nothing, that is either ignorance or hypocrisy. The Speaker: Cde. Green, let us finish this Session on a high note. Cde. Green: I apologise, Cde. Speaker. W e m ust n ot conclude this Sitting w ith this hypocrisy. Both M em bers o f the M inority Group spoke about the zero hour. Only the Cde. President know s that hour. I do not know how Janet Jagan could know zero, one, tw o or three hours. W e do not have to bring this Bill to catch votes. The particular category referred to here already support the People s N ational Congress Government. /A pplause./ The Speaker: L et m e have som e order in the Gallery, please. Cde. Green: W hat w e are seeking to do is to carry out a prom ise that we, in fact, made, and the position taken by the People s N ational C ongress and the M inistry responsible for Labour is that w e have to look at the total society and to see step by step w hat efforts can be m ade to assist particularly, groups of workers and workers as a whole. I deliberately referred to Jam aica because w hat happened in Jam aica - and I believe it w as an organised thing - is that the G overnm ent passed a law to say pay dom estics "X " dollars per week. The wom en w ho w ere functioning as secretaries and w ho were w orking at various places got together and said, Look, w e cannot afford to pay and w e will not pay and they retrenched all the w orkers. W ho benefits at the end o f the exercise? W e have said that w e introduce legislation w hich m akes it clear that persons m ust not be called upon to w ork from sun down, to sun up. W e say that w e will introduce later on, regulations to deal w ith a num ber o f other matters but, that for now the householder m ust keep a proper register and I propose to use the M inistry o f L abour s staff to, from tim e to tim e, see that this legislation w e are about to pass is honoured in the w ay it is intended to be honoured. W e feel that w e have m ade another step considered w ith an attem pt to help the workers and I 11

12 :45-2 :55 p.m. appeal to all categories involved to honour w hat we are doing here and to ensure that N ational Insurance Schem e w hich w as initiated by this G overnm ent is applied to these w orkers w hich is intended to aid all working people in our society. I therefore commend this Bill to this honourable House. Question put, and agreed to. Bill read a second time. Assem bly in Committee. Bill considered and approved. Assem bly resumed. Bill reported w ithout Am endm ent, read the Third tim e and passed 2:55 p.m. IN C O M E TA X (A M EN D M EN T) BILL 1980 A Bill intituled: "A n A ct to am end the Incom e Tax A ct. /T he M inister o f Finance. 7 The Speaker: Cde. Hope. 12

13 :55-3 :05 p.m. The M inister o f Finance (Cde. Hope): Cde. Speaker, in presenting the Incom e Tax (A m endm ent) Bill 1980, I w ish to m ake a few b rief rem arks to give the background to this Bill. The Bill, first o f all seeks to honour certain understanding w hich, over the course o f the last few m onths, the G overnm ent has been able to arrive at w ith the Trade U nion Congress. These refer to the follow ing im provem ents w hich the Government w ishes to make in its tax legislation affecting workers. First o f all, severance pay. U ntil now w orkers w ho have lost their jo b s, for one reason or another, and have been aw arded severance pay, found that they had to pay incom e tax on that severance pay. W hat the Bill seeks to do now is to m ake severance pay in the hands o f w orkers tax free and that takes effect from the year o f income, There is also the question o f station allow ances w hich w orkers stationed in the hinterland and faro ff areas have received until now. These allow ances have, been taxable. The concept w e have arrived at now is that these allow ances have in the past been provided essentially to com pensate the w orkers, to som e extent, for the difficulty in living in areas far rem oved from built-up centre. Therefore, since they are in fact cost reim bursem ents in a sense, w e have decided to put into the Bill an arrangem ent w hereby such station allow ances in the hands o f workers w ould also be tax free. Sim ilarly, w orkers have received lum p-sum paym ents as a m edical discharge, som ething parallel to severance pay and w e have decided to treat that in a parallel way by m aking such paym ents also tax free in the hands o f the workers. Cde. Speaker, w e have also been saying as part o f the incentive schem e that incentive payments received by workers should be tax free. W hat the Bill now seeks to do is to put that decision into law by proposing that incentive paym ents received by w orkers w hen the M inister certifies that they are incentive paym ents, should be tax free in the hands o f the workers. W hen the Budget w as presented last year, a num ber o f proposals w ere made. The rem aining proposals in this Bill seek, in fact, to im plem ent those proposals m ade in the Budget. B asically, one o f the interesting aspects o f the Bill is that now com m on-law w ives are being put on the same basis as m arried w ives for the purpose o f incom e tax. In other w ords, w herever the law at the m om ent refers to wife, the term com m on-law w ife or reputed w ife is being included to give these persons equal status in the law so far as tax is concerned. Provision is also m ade in the Bill to increase the allowances available to w orkers by 25 per cent, that is, the present allow ances o f $1,000 for a w orking man or a w orking w om an, is being increased by 25 per cent to $1,250. A nd all other allow ances have been consequentially increased. T hat is the proposal. For the w ife w hether reputed or m arried the allowances will now be $1,250. For children the allow ance will be $500 rather than $400, and for dependent relatives the allowance will be $375 rather than $300. A lso another interesting aspect o f this Bill is that it enables the father o f a child w ho has been born out o f w edlock to claim for that child in certain circum stances. U ntil now, the m other o f that child w ho has been born out o f w edlock has an inherent right from the fact that she is the m other to claim for the child. Sim ilarly if her husband is not the child s father, the husband can claim for that child once he rem ains the husband o f this wom an w hose child is born out o f wedlock. W hat the Bill is seeking to do is to enable the father o f that child to claim in certain circum stances: (1) W here he accepts paternity. (2) W here he is in fact supporting the child substantially. (3) W here the m other o f the child can certify in w riting to the C om m issioner o f Inland Revenue that the man is, in fact, 13

14 :55-3 :0 5 p.m. supporting the child. In those circum stances the father o f the child can claim rather than the m other or the husband o f the mother. A t the same tim e, the law w ould how ever require the incom e o f the reputed w ife to be joined with the incom e o f the man w ith w hom she is living. In that context she is put in exactly the same position as the married wife living with her husband. Basically, Cde. Speaker, these are the things w hich the Bill seeks to do in effect. A s I said before, the purpose o f this Bill is essentially to bring into effect some o f the B udget proposals in so far as those proposals affect incom e tax. The Bill also seeks to give equal treatm ent to a reputed w ife as in the case o f a m arried w ife w ith respect to the tax system. In addition, the Bill seeks to give, tax free, certain paym ents. These paym ents w ill be incentive paym ents under approved incentive schem es, severance pay w hich I know m any U nions have been interested in for a long tim e, as w ell as m edical discharge paym ents, all o f w hich will now be tax free. Cde. Speaker, w ith that b rief explanation I w ish form ally to m ove the Second Reading o f the Incom e Tax (Amendment) Bill. 14

15 :05-3 :15 p.m. 3:05 p.m. Question proposed. The Speaker: Cde. N arbada Persaud. Cde. N. Persaud: Cde. Speaker, the Incom e Tax (A m endm ent) Bill, like the H ousehold Service W orkers Bill has com e significantly at the last Sitting o f this Parliament. It is obvious an election gim m ick and, o f course, a cheap w ay o f cam paigning. It is trying to bribe the workers, the very w orkers w hose rights have been tram pled upon, w hose freedom has been taken away and w ho are prevented from choosing a G overnm ent and a Trade Union Council o f their choice. Passing this so-called tax relief bill today will help in any w ay w hatsoever despite coercion, force and threat to m obilise the 100,000 persons w anted for the puppet show w hich takes place on Sunday next - - The Speaker: Cde. N arbada, did you hear w hat I said to Cde. Green? That I w ant today to go o ff at a high level? You are accusing them for electioneering and that is w hat you are doing now. Let us try and keep the discussion on the Bill. Cde. N. Persaud: W orkers are fed up, frustrated and disgusted w ith the regim entation, the param ountcy o f the party policy - - The Speaker: Cde. N arbada, w hat has that got to do w ith this Bill? Cde. N. Persaud: He says it is a tax incentive - - The Speaker: I am not inclined to that view. Speak on the merits o f the Bill. Cde. N. Persaud: This pittance offered in the Bill will not m otivate the people tow ards increased production and productivity. It is too late and too little. The w hole tax system, incom e tax and other taxes, needs revam ping tow ards a more equitable and fair system. B ecause the distribution o f incom e is inequitable and unfair, the tax system becom es also inequitable and unfair. The increase offered therefore in this Bill this afternoon is a sham and offers absolutely nothing to the small m an, the real producers o f wealth. It is a deliberate attem pt to fool the people by luring them into a false sense o f understanding by bringing the Bill this afternoon, on the eve o f election, in this H ouse that the P.N.C. G overnm ent is indeed doing som ething for them. But, obviously, this is not the case. H ow will the w orkers be better o ff when one considers all the additional burdens w hich have been placed on their backs during the last few years in particular? Despite this m easure w hich seem s to offer som e relief, the 1980 B udget Estim ates show an increase o f approxim ately $2.5 m illion in incom e tax, and I am talking about personal incom e tax, as com pared w ith that under the 1979 Estim ates. I w ant to give an exam ple in this House to show w here the small man will not benefit from this m easure and I w ant to take an average fam ily w ith four children, husband and wife. That is an average fam ily I think w e will all agree. If he w orks for $250 per month he w ill not pay incom e tax. Therefore this m easure w ill not save him from anything. If he w orks for $300 per m onth he w as not paying incom e tax under the old system. This will not give him any relief. If he w orks for $350 per m onth he w as still not paying incom e tax. Therefore this Bill will not bring any relief for him. The point I w ant to m ake here is that this Bill will not assist the small man and the small man is getting far below $350 per m onth. The m inim um w age at the am ount is about $280 per month, if so much. That is the m inim um w age but I have m oved to the point o f $350 per m onth with a fam ily o f four children. This m easure will bring absolutely nothing to such a fam ily. This m easure w ill only bring relief to persons in the same category I spoke about, a fam ily o f four children, w hen the salary reaches $380 per m onth. Only then they would be able to get som ething from this measure. The workers at the bottom o f the ladder w ere n ot paying and w ill continue not to pay under this system. The incom e tax 15

16 :05-3 :15 p.m. m easure has, therefore, brought no relief to the small man. O ne has to w ork for a salary o f $462 per month going again with those four children before he now starts to pay incom e tax. H ow m any o f us in this country are w orking for a salary o f $462 per month? A gain I w ant to em phasise the point that this Governm ent, claim ing to be w orking-class, has brought under this Bill no relief to the w orking man o f this country. U nder the old system, if this Bill was n ot brought to the House, it m eans that the man w ho now w orks for $462 per m onth w ould have been called upon to pay $135 a year as incom e tax - if this relief w as n ot brought. T hat is to say that incom e tax is now chargeable at the salary o f $462. W ithout this m easure it w as chargeable at $350. I am saying, therefore, that w hat the man pays, w orking for a salary from $380 to $462 is $135 per year or $2.60 a week. I w ant now to com pare that - and that is w hy I call it a pittance - against all the additional burdens that that same fam ily is now being called upon to bear - to prove the point that this Bill has brought no relief to the small man. W e have the system w here workers are called upon to w ork over-tim e because o f the exigencies o f the service. L et us take the w aterfronts. The G overnm ent w ants to save m oney and so the w orkers have to unload the boats in a certain time. O f course, over-tim e is involved and their salaries go up, but, Cde. Speaker, when the w eek is finished one should really exam ine how m uch m oney goes back to the Governm ent. 16

17 :15-3 :2 5 p.m. Transitional National Assembly 3:15 p.m. (Cde. N Persaud continues) L et us take this bauxite industry, let us take the sugar industry, the productive sectors. The G overnm ent has been talking about increased production and productivity. The w orkers are called upon to produce m ore. If you produce m ore then you earn more. W hat provision is m ade so that when these w orkers earn additional m oney from overtim e w ork that they are exem pted in som e w ay or the other form paying back m ost o f that m oney to the G overnm ent. Y et w e talk o f increased production and increased productivity. No incentive whatsoever. The incom e, as is said, is not fairly distributed. The W orld B ank Report - and, Cde. Speaker, you m ay be aw are that a team from the W orld B ank cam e here in M ay 1980 to look into the econom y o f this country and they reported that G uyana w ith its $580 U.S. per capita in 1979 is am ong the low est in the W estern world. The R eport is here. N ow w ith that very low per capita incom e G uyana, w orkers are called upon to pay such heavy and various taxes in this country. N ow w e know for a fact that the unem ploym ent is very high in this country. A llow ances is given for a husband, w ife and children, but how many fam ilies around us, because o f the great unem ploym ent situation in this country do not have to subsidise those m any hundreds and thousands o f people w ho are w ithout w ork? N o allow ance is given for that. Official sources - and this R eport - put the unem ploym ent figure at 20 per cent, that is, one out o f every five persons in the labour force. O ur labour force is very small. U nofficial records put it at two out every seven. W here m ust they get their source o f incom e from? They have to depend upon us to w ork, yet no provision is m ade as far as that is concerned. This Report also states that another 22,000 will join the unem ployed by I am sure the G overnm ent is in receipt o f one o f these reports. The com rade said they are creating new jobs, giving a reason w hy $2.5 m illion is put in the 1980 Estim ates. I w ant to end today, on a very high note, on a very high pitch. I w ant to refer to the very small allow ance that is given and to prove that for all the burdens put on the backs o f the w orkers, it m eans nothing at all, particularly for the small man. This Report states that in 1977 the rate o f inflation in G uyana w as 11 per cent. This very Report puts it tw o years after, at the end o f 1979, at 20 per cent. This very R eport also states that the cost of consum er goods w ent up by during 1979 by 20 per cent. Yet this G overnm ent com es here as a w orkingclass G overnm ent, as a socialist G overnm ent, on the eve o f election, to m ake a big noise and to put in the new spaper and on the radio, as the last act o f this Parliam ent, that it has increased the allowance. B ut the m em bers o f the G overnm ent are not talking o f all these things that that delegation found that are recorded in this Report. I am only taking those that are relevant to this debate. A s I said, the W orld Bank then reported that in 1978 the retail prices - and, Cde. Speaker, I think - - The Speaker: Look, Cde. N arbada, I am not allowing a debate on the econom ic policy o f the Governm ent. I have given you a very long latitude. Just deal w ith the m erits now if not I will call somebody else. Cde. N. Persaud: W e agree that to a point the m easure this afternoon w ill bring some relief, but the question is to whom. To all the big ones. They are going to get the benefits. T he G overnm ent claim s to be a socialist Governm ent. Incom e tax in Socialist countries, direct tax m ove dow nw ards. The significance o f incom e tax loses that significance as tim e goes on and is com pletely abolished w ith tim e to come. I w ant to call on the G overnm ent this afternoon - - The Speaker: Cde. N arbada, you had better call on them very quickly before I call on you. Cde. N. Persaud: to think that taxes put forw ard in this Bill will not not solve the problem s in this 17

18 :15-3 :25p.m. country. Therefore, we m ust all agree that the w orkers w ho are the producers o f wealth, the m easure having - - /Interruption./ The Speaker: Hon. Member Mr. Singh, you wanted to speak. Please proceed. M r. M.F. Singh: Mr. Speaker, w e w ould have liked to see this Bill go further and give m ore relief b ut w e see no reason to oppose this Bill and, therefore, w e do support the m easures in this Bill. They are m erely giving effect to the proposals in the B udget Speech m ade earlier this year and in respect o f w hich I talked in extension. Hon. M em bers will rem em ber that I did m ake the point and given actual figures to show that in truth and in fact m ost o f the small men will not benefit in that they w ould not have been paying incom e tax under the previous system, therefore, they w ould not pay even w ith the benefits given here. I agree w ith the point m ade by the last speaker. Though w e agree w ith the legislation, one can see that there can be difficulties in interpreting this legislation and, in fact, in w orking it. To give you one example, right n ow for a husband to get allow ance for his w ife he has got to subm it a m arriage certificate. N ow that w e have added reputed wives w ho are living w ith husbands and the other w ay around for m ore than one calendar year, I can see that there will be difficulties in respect o f establishing that. A m ere m arriage certificate w ould n ot be enough. I do not know w hat the M inister has in mind that w ill have to be submitted. But as I understand it, you cannot have more than one w om an for whom you can claim an allow ance at any one time. That has been m ade abundantly clear. I think the M inister s colleagues w ould like to have that m ade pellucidly clear, that you can claim for only one wom an as your w ife or reputed wife. You cannot claim for your w ife and a reputed wife. T here seem s to be som e doubt over there. Please m ake that quite clear to them, that it is only one you can claim for. I am satisfied in my own m ind that it is only one and I accept that. H owever, to be serious again, the Inland Revenue O ffice is a very im portant office. A t the present m om ent you have to spend a lot o f tim e there when you w ant to get docum ents. They are understaffed, in m y hum ble opinion. To get a tax exit you have to w ait long periods. They have problem s in respect o f their com puterised services and trained personnel, from w hat I can gather, to operate their com puters. They have problem s in respect o f electricity blackouts w hen the com puters do n ot work. I recognise their lim itation but w e alw ays had problem s in respect o f that Inland Revenue D epartm ent, even before the com puterisation, do not let us blam e it only on com puterisation, lack o f trained personnel, and outages or blackouts or w hatever you care to call it. 3:25p.m. There are problem s and I am saying that there will be even greater problem s. Some certificates or som ething will have to be produced to prove w ho is a reputed w ife and under w hat circum stances that person is a reputed wife and all these will have to be examined. T hat w ill be a greater strain on that staff w hich is already overtaxed. I am m aking a plea to the hon. M inister now to have a detailed look at the staffing and the arrangem ents so that the taxpayer w ho already has problem s in dealing w ith the Inland Revenue Office, w ill have w ith these additional burdens no greater problem s. In fact, I will im plore that there be fewer problems. R ight now the hon. M inister knows that refunds to the ordinary taxpayers are years behindhand. I notice here that section 4 is retroactive; 18

19 :25-3:35p.m. Section 4 shall com e into operation w ith respect to and from the year o f assessm ent commencing on 1st January, T hat refers to the incentive schemes. N ow if they had paid incom e tax on incentive schem e paym ents, how long will it take for them to get refunds w hich are given under this? Perhaps the hon. M inister w ould m ake a special effort for these small people to get their refunds if they have been paid these incentives. I w ant to be constructive on this last occasion and I am m aking a plea for us to look carefully at that departm ent with respect to its whole operations. The proviso to the new section 21A states that no one can claim unless they have been living together for one calendar year. I suppose that is fair enough. So if you live w ith your reputed w ife from February, I take it you will not claim for that year, you have to w ait until the next year, so that if you change, you cannot claim at all. There would be som e versatile ladies and gentlem en w ho will not be particularly helped by the provisions o f this Bill. H owever, that is one o f the adm inistrative m atters that I see have been effectively handled here by the hon. Minister. Before I close I w ant to say that I deeply regret that at this tim e when the G overnm ent is m aking such a big song and dance about equality betw een men and wom en and equal status for w om en, that the m em bers o f the G overnm ent have not seen it fit to include in this Bill provisions for separate assessm ent o f incom e tax for w orking w ives or w orking reputed wives. One w ill notice that instead o f doing that, in Clause 13 they are saying that if you are a man living with a reputed w ife her incom e m ust be added to yours like a w ife s incom e. She is an appendage to you and her incom e is added to yours, you pay the tax on the higher scale and there is no separate assessm ent o f incom e tax for her. I think the tim e has com e w hen w e m ust change this and let w orking w ives enjoy the status o f having their incom e tax assessed separately. Let us have equality to that extent. I am quite aw are o f m any w ives w ho are educated and talented. The hon. M inister M r. Hamilton Green can tell you w hy his w ife is not w orking for a salary because she has to pay too m uch incom e tax. She is no longer a M inister o f the G overnm ent. She is a capable wom an but it does not pay her to w ork because the m ajority o f her salary com es out o f H am m ie s salary as incom e tax. This is a case - The Speaker: Hon. Mr. Singh, you are having a private conversation? - - M r. M.F. Singh: I am m aking a plea that this Bill should have gone further. I am m aking a plea that m y dead colleague, God rest her soul, Eleanor D a Silva m ade for years in this honourable H ouse, that w orking w ives should have their tax assessed separately and not be m ere appendage w ith respect to the man and an appendage to his incom e tax. W ith that as m y final plea to the G overnm ent let m e end by saying w e support the Bill, w e wish it had gone further. The Speaker: Cde. Minister. Cde. Hope: (replying) The criticism w as made that this Bill w as presented at this tim e because o f the im pending elections. On the contrary, Cde. Speaker. A num ber o f these provisions which w e have brought before this House in the form o f a Bill have, in fact, been in practice in the departm ent o f incom e tax through adm inistrative procedures and these particularly refer to station allowances as well as severance pay. O f course, as the m em ber subsequently realised, a num ber o f other proposals w ere m ade in the B udget and w hat w e are doing is im plem enting the B udget proposals. Cde. Speaker, som etim es along the line one got the im pression that the speaker from the m inority party considered that w e w ere bringing incom e tax relief to people w ho already w ere n ot liable to pay incom e tax. Obviously, that is nonsense. W e could not be proposing income tax relief to people who 19

20 :25-3:35p.m. w ere already exem pt from paying incom e tax. I w ish to point out that apart from those w ho are not required to pay incom e tax for any kind o f reason, there are about 190,000 persons w ho are paying incom e tax as o f now. The point I w ant to m ake is that every one o f those 190,000 persons will be relieved in different degrees as a result o f this Bill. That is a fact w hich I think needs to be understood, that there are about 190,000 persons, all taxpayers and all o f them will be relieved in some w ay as a result o f these proposals in the Bill. A s a m atter o f fact, I think m any persons did not realise that the Bill enables parents to claim for any num ber o f children w ho are not products o f a form al m arriage. In the past, the parents o f these children could only claim for up to four. In other w ords, until now, w here there w as a com m on-law relationship, only four children o f that relationship could have been claim ed for as a m axim um, irrespective o f the num ber o f children. In other w ords, w here there w ere nine children in a com m on-law relationship, the parents could only have claim ed for four. U nder these proposals the parents can claim for all and that can be very significant for a large num ber o f existing households. In fact, when w e w ere doing the B udget and this proposal was finally accepted by the Cabinet, substantial reduction had to be m ade in the estim ated incom e tax to be collected as a result o f this proposal. W e need to point it out as well as in order to counter those people w ho continue to plead that these reliefs are really insignificant in term s o f the effect. 3:35p.m. A lso w e need, side by side w ith these incom e tax proposals, to rem em ber that w hile the proposals are put into effect, the G overnm ent has been m aking positive steps in other directions to ease the burden o f the average G uyanese and from this point o f view I think w e need to recall that alm ost all the existing housing schem es organised by the Governm ent, w hether it is self-help, w hether it is co-operative or otherwise, are very highly subsidised. Similarly pure w ater schem es in this country are very highly subsidised, school uniform s and school books are largely free and the schooling is free. I think w e need, when w e get people talking about the costs they have to endure, apart from these allowances, w e need to rem em ber that the G overnm ent has been taking positive steps in other directions to ease the burden o f living. Those are the rem arks I wish to make. Question put, and agreed to. Bill read a second time. Assem bly in Committee. Bill considered and approved. Assem bly resumed. Bill reported w ithout Am endm ent, read the Third tim e and passed. A Bill intituled: M ISECELLANEOUS LAW S (AM ENDM ENT) BILL 1980 "A n A ct to am end certain law s." [The M inister o f H om e A ffairs.] The M inister o f H om e A ffairs(cde. M ingo): Cde. Speaker, I beg to m ove the Second Reading of the M iscellaneous Laws (Amendment) Bill The objective o f the main provision o f the Bill that is before the H ouse is very sim ply to provide certain assistance to the President in the discharge o f som e o f his functions. Under the previous Constitution, the President, being Head o f State but not Head o f Government, 20

21 :25-3 :35p.m. w as free to assum e a num ber o f form al, though im portant, functions. N ow that the President is both Head o f G overnm ent he is obviously n ot as w ell situated as w e the previous President to discharge all o f these functions personally. It would be wise therefore for Parliament to

22 :35-3 :45p.m m ake provision enabling the President to delegate some o f these functions w ithout, o f course, denuding him o f his overall responsibility. O ne o f these areas concerns the adm inistration o f oaths under the prom issory Oaths A ct, Chapter 27:06. U nder section 6 o f that A ct the President is required personally to adm inister all oaths to all Judges. This is also the case w ith the Secretary to the C abinet or any officer appointed to exercise the functions o f that post. Subsection (3) o f that section provides that any other oaths required to be taken under that A ct can be taken before the President or before such public officer as the President m ay in any case direct in writing under his hand. It will be seen that so far as this A ct is concerned it perm its the President to delegate only in certain cases and then only to a public officer. He cannot, for example, delegate to a Judge. There is som e provision for delegation in section 27 o f the Interpretation and General Clause A ct, Chapter 2:01, b ut the category o f possible delegate is rather lim ited and the procedure for delegation requires the m aking o f an O rder by the President. That procedure is less flexible than the procedure provided under section 6(3) o f the Prom issory O aths A ct under w hich the delegation can be affected m ore sim ply by written directions under the hand o f the President. Put briefly then, the Bill seeks to enlarge the category o f office holders in respect o f w hom, as w ell as the category o f persons to w hom, the President m ay delegate his authority to adm inister oaths by the flexible m ethod o f written directions under the Prom issory Oaths Act. The second part o f the Bill m akes reference to certain orders which w ere m ade by the form er President under section 6 o f the Constitution o f the C o-operative Republic o f G uyana A ct 1980 w hich em powers the then President, by such O rders, to m odify existing laws to such extent as may, in his opinion, be necessary or expedient to enable the Constitution to function as from the date on w hich it came into force. A sim ilar pow er w as given to the G overnor to m odify laws to facilitate the functioning o f the Independent C onstitution. T hree such O rders w ere m ade by the form er President and it is proposed to am end the Bill so as to specify them w ith som e particularity since they were m ade by the form er President in anticipation o f the com m encem ent o f the new C onstitution. It is thought convenient to take the opportunity presented by this Bill at the second sitting o f this Parliam ent, under the new C onstitution, to bring these O rders in a form al w ay to the notice o f Parliam ent and for its own sanction. These then are the reasons w hich I ask the House to consider in support o f m y M otion for the Second Reading o f this Bill. 3:45 p.m. Question proposed, put and agreed to. Bill read a Second time. Assem bly in Committee. C lause 1 to 3 agreed to and ordered to stand part o f the Bill. Clause 4. Cde. Mingo: I w ish to m ove the A m endm ent standing in my name. A m endm ent - That for the words, any orders made under section 6 thereof, the following be intituled: "the Constitution o f the C o-operative Republic o f G uyana (Adaptation and M odification o f Laws) (Representation o f the People) O rder 1980, the Constitution o f the C o-operative R epublic o f G uyana (Adaptation and M odification o f Law s) (R epresentation o f People - Presidential Candidate) O rder 1980 and the C onstitution o f the C o-operative R epublic o f G uyana (Adaptation and M odification o f Laws) (Elections) Order 1980" 22

23 :35-3:45p.m put and agreed to. C lause 4, as am ended, agreed to and ordered to stand part o f the Bill. Assem bly resumed. Bill reported w ith an A m endm ent to Clause 4; as am ended, considered; read the Third time and passed. LAST SITTING OF THE NATIONAL A SSEM BLY The Speaker: C om rades and hon. M em bers, as this is the last Sitting o f Parliam ent, I would wish to take this opportunity o f thanking all o f you for the co-operation you have given to m e over the past nine years and ten m onths when I had the honour and privilege o f serving you as Speaker o f this Parliam ent. E xcept for one or tw o occasions, our relationship has been cordial and friendly and the onerous w ork w as m ade easy by the ready co-operation I received from all parties on all occasions. D uring m y tenure o f service, I w as greatly enriched by the experience I have gained in serving as Speaker o f this Parliament. M ay I also take this opportunity to express my personal thanks to the President o f the C o operative R epublic o f Guyana, w ho as Prim e M inster and Head o f G overnm ent gave m e the fullest support, help and assistance in the carrying out o f the arduous, adm inistrative and other duties as Speaker o f Parliam ent. I w ould also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Clerk. D eputy Clerk and all m em bers o f the staff who supported m e and gave untiring.. 23

24 :45-3 :55 p.m. service during m y entire period as Speaker and w ithout w hose help I doubt I w ould have been able to carry out the w ork o f Parliam ent, and to the press and radio for m aking available to the nation the w ork o f the Assembly. Finally, m ay I take this opportunity o f w ishing all M em bers and their fam ilies good health and success in the future and particularly in the elections ahead. Cde. Prime Minister. The Prim e M inister: (Cde. R eid) Cde. Speaker, it has fallen on m e this tim e to respond to what you have ju st said and to observe that this is the last day o f this Parliam ent. I too w ish to join in thanking the Clerk, the D eputy C lerk and all the w orkers o f the Parliam ent and, especially, you yourself, Cde. Speaker, for the effective w ork you have carried through over the period. I know all o f us have missed the President in this closing session, but changes will always come about. Parliam ent itself, however, has been one o f those institutions that have grown slowly but strongly over the centuries. Institutions that have a character to last for a long tim e tend to grow very slowly. The history o f Parliam ent is far back to som ewhere around the year 1265 when Simon de M ontfort had the idea o f a Parliam ent w hich w as developed by Edward I and so in 1295 there cam e into being in England the first model o f Parliam ent. That is a long tim e from now. Like a tree o f a particular nature every ring becam e part o f the growth o f Parliam ent and custom s and precedence can be m anifested in those annual rings. I said a particular kind o f plant because it is given only to those that grow large and long as the oak, our m ango tree, our silk cotton tree, that will last for centuries. So today as w e observe the closing o f this Third Parliam ent and the curtain is draw n rem em ber those w ho w ere here at the com m encem ent o f this Parliam ent b ut are not here today. Some have been rem oved by illness. But one particular reaper, nam ely the grim reaper, has carried o ff some o f its m em bers. W e m iss them, w e m iss their contribution. But, o f course, their places have been taken by others and thus, this relay race continues. I am particularly glad that those o f us w ho are here have survived. Some o f us have grown w ith Parliam ent, some o f us have developed. W e have seen some o f the changes that have touched us as individuals and persons, for today w e have not the form er Prim e M inister w ith us, but in spirit w e still have the Executive President o f the C o-operative Republic and we hope that in the next Parliam ent w e shall have the jo y and privilege o f seeing him from tim e to time. W e close, I think, this Parliament because Parliament, as individual sessions, do not last forever. A note has ju st been passed to m e to rem ind m e that this very day is the rem em brance day o f the first year o f the passing o f one o f our stalwarts w ho graced this Parliam ent, nam ely, Cde. V incent Teekah. It is probably apposite that at this tim e w e are saying farewell, goodbye to this Third Parliam ent. B ut I cannot take my seat w ithout m entioning som e o f the significant changes that have com e about during the Parliam ent, the nationalisation o f so m any expatriate industries including w hat w as described in the past as Bookers Guyana. A ll these are now owned and controlled by the people o f Guyana. (A pplause). It is during this Parliam ent that w e saw that far-reaching change o f free education for all from nursery to university. If there is anything very significant about the revolution it is ju st that. 3:55 p.m. B ut Parliam ent as an institution has had upheavals. The battle w as fought for years betw een the M onarchy and the R oyalty, between the N obles and the M onarchy, and it w as not until as far back as 1688 that the N obles had the better o f the M onarchy. A nd even though they had m ade changes in theory by having tw o cham bers, the H ouse o f Lords and the H ouse o f Com m ons, the H ouse o f Lords had the highest nobility and the highest o f the Clergy, and the House o f C om m ons had the ordinary people and the N obles o f a low er level, for the people, there w as no significant change, for it w as governm ent by the 24