The 171 female sugar workers who were employed in the fields and factories of the now-closed Wales, East Demerara, Rose Hall and Skeldon Estates are to receive food hampers compliments of the Guyana Solidarity Movement – New York (GSM-NY). The women workers, given the nature of work they undertook in the sugar industry, had relatively low earnings, and quite a few were single parents themselves making their situation doubly harsh.
The GSM-NY which comprises Guyanese resident in the New York area has been especially moved by the suffering and hardships that now grip the thousands of persons affected by the closure of the estates. Previously, the GSM-NY had provided support which saw cane cutters of Wales, the only group of redundant workers to not have received any severance payments, receiving hampers in late December, 2017.
This latest support was made possible through the support of many kind-hearted Guyanese in the New York area who have been touched by the stories of sadness in the sugar belt. Today, many of the now jobless workers have serious difficulties to put meals on their tables; to send their children to school, or to pay their bills. For them it is been nothing short of a nightmare with previously simple things now becoming a monumental challenge.
The first distribution exercise was conducted for the workers of East Demerara Estate at the Enmore Community Centre where 83 ex-workers were slated to receive hampers. The recipients were very appreciative and touched by the kind gesture and were pleased to know that they are not alone at this trying time in their lives. The hampers which comprised basic food items such as rice, flour, sugar, milk, salt, etc, the workers related will go some way to easing the burdens they have to fetch now-a-days.
Some of the ex-sugar workers shared that though they have managed to secure jobs, their rates-of-pay and conditions of work are far inferior from what they enjoyed in the sugar industry. Some others related that given their age they have great difficulties in obtaining employment. They lamented that they gave their best years to the sugar industry and GuySuCo and now they have been shoved in the cold world of the unemployed seemingly without any consideration about their and their family’s well-being.
In the coming days, similar activities will be held at Wales, Rose Hall and Skeldon Estate.
