GAWU condemns a misleading and insensitive ad against sugar workers

Dear Editor,
Our attention was drawn to an advertisement on the social media pages – Village Voice. The seemingly ‘paid’ post, aimed at cane cutters, was highly disrespectful and disparaging, seeking to castigate them, from all impressions, as living in a backwards manner. We find the post deeply disturbing and affronting all sugar workers and their families.
We see the putrid attempt to denigrate sugar workers as reflective of the highly insensitive and dim view held by the promoters of the advertisement and the editorial board of the Village Voice, which, for all intents, accepted and approved the post. Of course, given Village Voice’s previous posts and articles, we should not be surprised. The outfit and intellectual authors have long held disdainful views against the sugar industry, its workers, and those who depend on it.
While the ad attempts, shamelessly in our mind, to paint work in the sugar industry as seemingly indecent, it would appear that the Village Voice endorsed the treatment meted out during the Coalition’s sojourn in office. His Excellency, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, on Enmore Martyrs Day 2025, reminded us of some noteworthy findings of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) report on the socio-economic impact on the workers following the closure of estates between 2016 and 2017. That report highlighted:
1. Alcoholism, crime and suicide went up in the communities of the closed estates.
2. Income levels fell drastically, by over 70 per cent.
3. The former workers reported that their lives were worse off as a result of the closures.
4. Across the board, workers’ anxieties increased about the future.
5. Children’s educational pursuits were cut short.
6. Households and communities became worse off.
While the Village Voice wants to promote a decent life for sugar workers, the reality remains, from all impressions, they support groupings and individuals who did quite the opposite. These facts are empirically grounded and were felt by thousands and seen in the villages in the sugar belt.
The workers shall not be deceived by cheap talk and rhetoric; they are conscious and know who has their backs.

Sincerely,
Guyana Agricultural
and General Workers
Union (GAWU)