The following statement was read by Rose Hall worker, Glen McLeod at a press conference held by the workers at the Union’s New Amsterdam office today (November 08, 2017).
Members of the media, we are indeed very pleased that you have accepted the invitation of our Union – the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) – today. We are hopeful that, through you, our concerns and fears will be shared with the public. We are also hopeful that our message would reach a listening ear of our decision makers and would prompt them to take a second look at our situation.
Ladies and gentleman, those of us present here today are representatives of the thousands who are employed at Rose Hall Estate as well as the several thousands more who depend on the estate’s operations for their well-being. We were very much saddened to learn on October 13, 2017, that GuySuCo communicated its intent to close our estate in a few short weeks. While we were aware of previous statements by Government and GuySuCo officials regarding Rose Hall’s closure, we were hopeful that there would have been a re-look at the intention recognizing the obvious hardship that would result from the estate’s closure. Moreover, we hoped that our decision-makers recognizing the difficulties which now face the people of Wales would have harboured second thoughts. Despite GuySuCo’s recent communication, we believe, there is still time to re-consider the closure approach.
Regarding the estate’s closure, we are aware that this has long been advocated by the topmost man in the sugar industry. It is a position he has held for over two (2) decades now and has sought implementation on a few occasions. It was pleasing to know that those who he sought to convince in the past resisted his ideas. It seems now this ‘snake oil’ salesman has found a willing partner/s to assist him in implementing such nefarious plans.
Rose Hall Estate occupies a significant place in the history of the sugar industry in Guyana. It was not too far from the current estate that in 1763 the Berbice Slave Rebellion led by Cuffy took place. It was also at Rose Hall in 1913 that the killing of 15 indentured labourers took place. Both incidents highlighted the cruel plantation system and the dogged determination of the workers then to seek a better day for themselves and their descendants. Rose Hall was also the site chosen, by then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, to have the Vesting Day activity on May 26, 1976 when the sugar industry was nationalized and GuySuCo was established. In fact, a plaque was sited at the Estate to commemorate that historic moment. We recall the pride we felt as Guyanese being the owners of the industry and we were promised by then Prime Minister Burnham that better days were ahead for us. We also wish to point out that Rose Hall Estate is the only estate that has been awarded a national award – the Medal of Service.
For us of Rose Hall, closure can be seen as a death knell for so many hardworking people and their families. For us of Rose Hall, closure means that our plans for life, our dreams for a better tomorrow, and our aspirations for our children and grandchildren have all but been dashed. For us of Rose Hall, closure will bring about uncertain times and many difficult, misery-filled days ahead. For us of Rose Hall, closure brings about real questions like where would our next meal come from, how would our children and grandchildren go to school, and how would we earn and meet our obligations. For us of Rose Hall, closure means difficult choices have to be made:- would we eat or would we pay the electricity bills; would we send the children to school or would we buy clothes; would we starve or do we have to do something not necessarily right to put food on the table. These, ladies and gentlemen of the media, are some of the stark but real choices we would face should the planned closure be implemented. Closure could very well force good people to do things they shouldn’t do. This is the life and this is the tomorrow we are being pushed into.
For the people of Rose Hall, the estate represented more than a place of work. It allowed us to reach many of life’s goals. It allowed us to become better people. And, it gave us the opportunity to contribute to the building and development of Guyana. The estate is a beacon for our communities. When it is in operation it provides hope, it gives the communities life, and it provides light in the darkness that often times fills life. In a few short weeks, the estate chimney will no longer smoke, the horn will no longer blare, the hum of the sugar factory would cease, the lorries will no longer run, the night sky will not light up as canes are burnt, and the unmistakable sound of traversing cane punts will no longer be heard. And in its place, an eerie silence would be heard.
For many of us, we are not sure what we will do should the Government and GuySuCo remain unmoved and proceed to close the estate. The reality is that in the absence of Rose Hall Estate there is simply nothing else to do in the area. There is no other industry or enterprise which can readily take us on. While we do face some difficulties now, this would be multiplied several times over should the closure take place. Our hopes of a better future and our now cohesive communities would be severely affected. Crime, destitution and social ills would rise incredibly. The situation in the homes would become difficult and broken families would become more commonplace. We want to believe this cannot be the life our leaders want us and our families to face.
We are told that Rose Hall has to be closed because there are not sufficient monies to support its operation. But we ask, isn’t the cost of the massive social upheaval that will take place more costly as was pointed before by GAWU? Certainly significant sums will have to be spent to employ more police officers, to build new jails or extend the existing ones, and to hire more magistrates and have larger courts to address the crime situation that would come about from the estate’s closure. Huge sums will also have to be spent on increasing the lot of social workers and improving the social protection infrastructure to deal with the social problems that would arise. Great sums will also have to be expended to deal with the increase in poverty. These are just a few of the real difficulties we see that would arise and hopefully that would have to be meaningfully addressed by Rose Hall’s closure.
We believe that Rose Hall Estate can succeed and remain viable. Like the other estates in the sugar industry, our main problem is not enough canes being available. Our estate has shown in the past that it can do better and be better. We believe those times can return but there is need for some investment together with a committed and knowledgeable management. The workers are supportive of all efforts to safeguard the estate. We are aware too that there is talk of privatizing Rose Hall. This is not a move we are supportive of. We know of the sad consequences that such a direction can bring. We know that the new owners, in all likelihood, will not respect our gains and will seek to curtail significantly the benefits and conditions we enjoy and which came about after difficult and hard struggles waged by us and those who came before us.
We urge the decision makers to reconsider the closure policy. We urge them to think about the people who will be affected. We urge them to think about the innocent children whose tomorrow stands threatened. We urge them to think about the threats to family life and community well-being. We urge them to step back and look at the big picture and not to be consumed only by finance and recall their promise to us and our families of a ‘Good Life’.
