GEORGETOWN – Guyana’s explosive economic growth has pushed the country into a new and uncomfortable reality: the labour force simply cannot keep up. That was the message from Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Gerald Gouveia Jr., who openly acknowledged that the country’s development surge is now forcing a renewed reliance on migrant labour across nearly every major sector.
Gouveia argued that this is not a question of choosing foreign workers over Guyanese, but a consequence of an economy expanding faster than the available workforce. From agriculture to tourism, from oil and gas to ICT, employers are reporting the same problem, there are not enough hands to meet demand.
“There’s no secret that there is a labour issue in Guyana,” Gouveia said, outlining what he described as a nationwide shortage affecting both public and private institutions. He suggested that Guyana must now begin treating migrant workers as a structured part of the economy, not an informal supplement. This would require a streamlined national system for recruitment, regulation and integration, backed by legislative and financial reforms that recognise the “economic implications of foreign labour.”
According to the PSC, labour shortages are already slowing growth in critical industries, with companies unable to find the manpower or technical skills required to sustain the current pace of expansion. Gouveia described the need as urgent, noting that Guyana’s rise, from oil production to mega-infrastructure projects, will stall if workers cannot be brought in quickly and efficiently.
But with the call for migrant labour has come a predictable question from the public: why not raise wages for Guyanese workers instead?
Gouveia insisted that wages are already rising, arguing that the private-sector labour market is responding to economic pressure with salaries “well above the legal minimum.” However, he argued that wage increases alone will not solve the deeper problem, pointing to tax policy as the next frontier.
He said the PSC is pushing for a full review of income tax thresholds, corporate tax obligations, and incentive structures for employers, with the goal of ensuring workers take home more of their pay. According to him, the current system limits the ability of companies to offer meaningful benefit packages, and reforms could help boost disposable income for thousands of Guyanese workers.
“We are asking the Government to re-look at employee benefit packages and consider mechanisms for tax deductions or incentives for companies to offer higher benefits,” he said, suggesting that the next round of private-sector recommendations will focus heavily on raising take-home pay through tax reform rather than wage mandates.
As Guyana grapples with the demands of a rapidly modernizing economy, the PSC’s position reflects a broader tension now shaping national policy: how to fuel unprecedented growth without sidelining local workers, and how to bring in migrant labour without triggering a public backlash. For now, the Commission appears confident that Guyana must expand in both directions, skilled migrants to fill urgent gaps, and tax reforms to make local employment more rewarding.
