Dear Editor,
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is dismayed by the comments from AFC Member of Parliament (MP) Khemraj Ramjattan in the November 04, 2024, Stabroek News regarding the sugar industry. According to the news article, Mr Ramjattan swiped at the GAWU for our advocacy on behalf of sugar workers and their families. It is disappointing that an individual who cloth himself as a ‘national leader’ is advancing sentiments against the well-being and welfare of ordinary Guyanese.
The Opposition MP charges that the Union’s stance in respect of workers will change arising from the evolution of the industry’s labour force. We find such assertions laughable and are no doubt an attempt to mislead and deceive deliberately. The GAWU has long expressed positive support for the industry’s mechanisation efforts, noting their complementary effects and impact on productivity. Mr Ramjattan may recall when he held the ‘powerful’ post as Vice President in the Coalition Government, the GAWU advancing similar positions. We have not digressed from that position, and therefore, we fail to see the connection he is futilely attempting to make.
The former Public Security Minister held that working in the sugar industry was akin to being impoverished. This is irresponsible, reckless, and demeaning to the hard-working sugar workers and their families. In our view, it speaks to the contempt and derision held by Mr Ramjattan towards the Guyanese in the sugar belt. Of course, we believe the Opposition MP should be the last to talk about impoverishment in the sugar belt.
While he seeks to pontificate, we, like many Guyanese, have not forgotten what he and his cohorts, when in Government, did to the sugar workers and the industry. The sending home of some 7,000 Guyanese men and women without even an ounce of remorse. Does he recall telling GAWU and now President Dr Irfaan Ali that if we want a socio-economic study of the impact of the closure, we should do it ourselves?
We did take him up and, with the support of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), got that study done. Sadly, that study confirmed what we told Mr Ramjattan and his colleagues. He and his then government-cut the workers loose without a lifeline. He and his colleagues then denied them their severance pay consistent with the law. He and his colleagues simply turned their backs and sat back in their ivory towers while poverty, suffering, and indignation crept into the lives of tens of thousands of Guyanese. Does he remember too rubbing salt in the wound when sugar workers had their wages frozen during the entire tenure of the APNU+AFC Government?
So, it is simply appalling that Mr Ramjattan now contends that it is economically irresponsible to support the sugar industry. By his utterances, it appears he contends that it was responsible for pauperising tens of thousands as he did during the reign of the Coalition Government. For us, it speaks to the nature and approach of the individuals who comprised the now-divorced Coalition. It is an enigma to us that people can still listen, much less have any modicum of respect for persons of such ilk.
The GAWU, like thousands of sugar workers, recognises and appreciates Dr Irfaan Ali’s government support of the sugar industry. Finally, the stranglehold has been released, and though we have disagreements in certain respects, we are confident that the industry can overcome its difficulties and continue to make meaningful contributions to our people and country’s well-being.
Yours faithfully,
Seepaul Narine
President
GAWU
