Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat has reiterated the government’s call for Guyanese workers with comparable qualifications, experience and skill sets to expatriate employees in the oil and gas sector to receive equal pay for the work they perform.
Speaking on the Starting Point podcast on Sunday, Minister Bharrat said Guyana has reached a stage where many nationals have developed the technical expertise and experience needed to take on roles within the sector.
“Ten years after discovery to production, we have Guyanese who have upskilled themselves, who went abroad and studied on scholarships or on their own. We have Guyanese who qualify themselves through technical training colleges in Guyana, and they are on FPSOs (floating production, storage, and offloading) working alongside Exxon,” Minister Bharrat said.
He further explained, “If you’re…an expat, you have five years’ experience in the oil sector, you’re a reservoir engineer, I am a Guyanese, I have five years’ experience, I have the same kind of qualifications as you, both of us are working on a drill ship offshore, then the salary that you receive, I should receive too.”
Minister Bharrat noted that differences may exist in other benefits, such as allowances provided to expatriate workers living away from their home countries, but maintained that salary should reflect the employee’s skills, qualifications and responsibilities.
He said the issue has been discussed with major companies operating in Guyana’s oil and gas sector, including ExxonMobil, SBM Offshore and MODEC, adding that they have indicated support for fair pay practices.
The minister highlighted that Guyana’s growing oil and gas industry has had a larger pool of skilled Guyanese workers, with citizens now gaining experience in areas previously dominated by expatriate personnel.