There it was again in GT…but this time there was no green or any other colour – just a sea – well a puddle then!! – of red!! It was Labour Day!! And probably more out of reflex than anything else, members of several unions gathered at Parade Ground to start marching through the city. Interestingly, they were on Burnham Court – named after the chap who brought the urban unions there in 1962 to burn half of the commercial district down to the ground! And not so coincidentally ignite the process that was to oust the PPP Government from office – and keep them out for 28 years!!
The sparse contingents reminded us that for most of our workers, the enthusiasm of the earlier days was gone. And why not?? It surely wasn’t coincidental that the leader of the aforementioned urban unions – one of two umbrella groups representing unions – had a long missive in the press criticising the Government and the CoI into the 2020 elections – but not a word about workers and their struggles!! Now, of course, unions and their leaders must be concerned about what goes on in the ocean where they swim. But this letter wasn’t an aberration – it just emphasised the misplaced priorities of some unions.
It was a pitiful sight –- in the estimation of your working-class Eyewitness – to see the depths into which our labour organisations have found themselves. And if that makes it seem that all of this happened to them without their active connivance – well it just ain’t so. Our labour unions made the mistake that invariably dooms organisations – they forget the reasons for their existence and try to ride several horses at the same time. Now is never gonna work – even if some of those horses may be going in the same general direction. The problem is those other horses have jockeys who’re whipping them to move at their own pace and specific destinations!
Sure all the political leaders came out of the trade union movement. Sure, those linkages don’t have to be destroyed. After all, if for nothing else, it’s good to have links to politicians who may form the Government – or are already in Government. They may make moves that would benefit their membership. But they have to go by what has been their experience historically!! Has the single-minded devotion to political parties paid off in dividends to their membership?? Not nearly as much as it should’ve been!!
Unions have to wake up and smell the coffee – but certainly not the one from Starbucks in the Mall!! They should remember the experience of the US Starbucks employees to appreciate the pressure on workers in a neoliberal economy. Its sweatshops’ philosophy!!
Solidarity forever gotta be the watchword!!
…and banking
Now workers still gotta manually slog away – in Guyana still in the cane fields as during slavery and Indentureship – to earn their daily bread from their blood, sweat and tears. But in the 21st century, we hear about the economies of the developed countries being “financialised”, Meaning they don’t depend on sweat to get rich – just gambling with money to make money with a click on a keyboard. Staggering amounts!! And we eventually pay for it!!
After all, they create crises that affect us all. After the collapse of American banks in 2008, you’d think they’d learn their lesson. But easy money’s too tempting. A third big bank – Republic Bank with assets of $229.1 billion following Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in mid-March – has collapsed – even though US$30 billion was pumped into it. The FDIC persuaded JPMorganChase – their largest bank with US$4 TRILLION in assets! – to take it over.
US banks gonna have to pay the FDIC US$13B for their efforts. Are local deposits insured??
…and agriculture pricing
We’re manfully diversifying our agricultural output. But we should remember that commodity prices – like for soya and sugar – aren’t set by supply and demand – but by speculators in the developed economies.
Can we play that game??
