The women of Rose Hall and surrounding villages in Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) are calling on the Government to rethink its decision to close the sugar estate. The women joined the picket line on Thursday as workers attached to the Rose Hall Sugar Factory intensified their protest action against the impending closure of the estate.
Margret Persaud, a parent whose husband is bedridden, explained that her sales at the pay office market on Fridays are from the workers. If the factory closes, so too will that market, and finding an alternative may prove difficult.
Persaud said she is begging for the factor to remain open so that workers can keep their jobs.
Some of the women of Rose Hall, Berbice protesting the closure of the estate
Meanwhile, another woman explained that as a domestic worker, there will be no need for her if the estate closes. She explained that persons who do domestic work will no longer be needed, as persons will no longer be able to pay them.
Women in mainstream business are also worried.
Sherry Beeepat, who operates a manufacturing store, also joined the protest on Thursday. She says the furniture manufacturing factory at Canefield, East Canje – which has been in existence for 31 years – will have to close if the estate does. The business is sustained by the estate’s workers.
“The closure of the Rose Hall Estate means the closure of my business and I also head the East Canje Humanitarian which assists bedridden and disabled people. The closure of the estate means the closure of our organisation. We do out fundraising in the community… if the estate is closed, where would the people get money to support.”
The women who joined their menfolk on the protest line on Thursday are calling for management of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and Government to meet and think of a better solution to the issues currently affecting the industry.
They say many families are indebted to lending agencies and also have instalments to pay for household appliances.
According to Tina Seepersaud, whose husband is likely to lose his job by year end, the family is indebted to a lending institution and the impending closure could be devastating for her family.
“My husband works at the estate and when the estate closes, the property will be taken and we will be on the street. Please, Government see what can be done for the people of Berbice,” she appealed.
The ‘white paper’ on sugar was presented to the National Assembly by Agriculture Minister Noel Holder on Monday.
Former Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy describes the document as a ‘non-paper’, saying it is another cruel and shameless attempt to change the narrative.
The white paper, he says, conveniently ignored real questions about consolidation of estates. “Already, Uitvlugt has demonstrated that transportation of canes from Wales to Uitvlugt is filled with problems – transportation of cane to the factory has increased cost of production. The same will be true for canes from most of the Rose Hall cultivation to Albion. In spite of GuSuCO’s denial, Providence cane cultivation which is part of the Rose Hall estate was closed since the end of 2015. Albion which presently boasts the lowest cost of sugar production and the most efficient in terms of cane to sugar ratio will be transformed into a less efficient estate. It will be impossible to maintain Enmore/LBI cultivation since transport to any factory will be prohibitive.”
Last year Government closed the Wales factory on the West Bank of Demerara leaving hundreds of persons unemployed. The closure of the Wales Estate is not yet settled, as some workers are still protesting Government’s withholding of their severance pay.
Also, the operations of the La Bonne Intention Estate, on the East Coast of Demerara, were amalgamated last year with those of the Enmore Estate in order to make both estates more efficient, according to GuySuCo. The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union has noted that thousands of persons stand to be affected by the closure of these estates which employs persons in the field, factory, security, administrative and managerial sections. (Andrew Carmichael)
