The Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union (GAWU), the recognized trade union for sugar workers across Guyana, went into silence as its members orchestrated a number of disruptive protests at Blairmont, Berbice.
In 2017 after widespread consultations conducted across the sugar belt, the APNU+AFC government made an economic decision to cut back operations at certain sugar estates. Workers enjoyed terminal benefits including severance payments and annual leave allowances as required by the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act, Cap. 96:01 and the Leave With Pay Act. Cap. 99:02.
Through the Board of Industrial Training and TVET, a number of technical programs were introduced to the sugar belt to facilitate a smooth transition of workers from the traditional agriculture sector to entrepreneurship and more modern industries such as agro-processing. Despite the plan for transition, GAWU joined forces with the PPP and argued that sugar was profitable and that the closure of the estates led to socioeconomic issues deliberately intended.
In response, the PPP through its leader, Jagdeo, promised to reopen what he termed “the profitable sugar industry”. Between September 24, 2019, February 28, 2020, now Vice President Jagdeo appeared on Hot Seat, a programme hosted during the run up to the March 2020 elections by 94.1 FM journalist, Stan Gouveia, and promised Guyanese in the sugar belt to reopen the estates at LBI, Enmore, Wales, Rose Hall and Skeldon.
However, GAWU and sugar workers seems to be slowly waking up to the reality that the noise and excitement of the PPP to reopen the sugar estates and restore it to pre 2005 profitability, are lies conceived to maintain votes in the sugar belt. This is evident with protests during the week by workers of the Blairmont Sugar Estate for outstanding wages and benefits unpaid by GuySuCo, as the Government grapples to find a new road map to the path of a profitable sugar industry.
