Our Union, like we have done over the last few years has considered the year of 2018. As we took stock of the days that have gone by we recognized that it was a year characterized by bitter-sweet victories and a fair share of disappointment but it was a year too where the Union can say it has held its head high. Indeed, as 2018 will soon fade into history, the GAWU goes forward with renewed optimism and a hopeful exuberance as we see signs of a re-emergence of workers resistance and the ground more fertile for workers collaboration and co-operation. As 2018 comes to an end, workers of all shades have recognized that respect of their rights is a matter not held in high esteem by our current crop of Governmental leaders and it is only through raising their voices that they will be given the respect they really deserve.
While optimistic on that front, the GAWU is also anxious as well. For the thousands who stand affected by the closure of estates, the year was probably one of the most difficult for them. It is a year where they have come to the sad realization that life is no longer the way it was. They have come to the sad conclusion that their aspirations and hopes have to take a backseat as they seek to eke out a life for them and their loved ones. It has been a year, where was once normal, has become a difficult chore. Certainly, at this time of year, when we all take a moment to enjoy our efforts, they have not much to celebrate or for that matter put on their table. This year, the expectations of their children for a little gift may be dashed and the hope to make their life is little better have been daunted by the reality of a life without a job.
The year ends too with the Guyanese working-people and their families filled with dismay, despair and disappointment. They say goodbye to 2018 besieged by the pressures of life. Today, they look around and see their relatives and friends like them being crushed by the burdens of heavier taxes; a higher cost-of-living; heightened threats of criminality, and wondering how they must keep their heads above water. Today while they are told the riches await them when oil production begins, they are pushed to the poverty line. As they face up and contend with such realities, they see those who promised them a ‘Good Life’ are the ones living a ‘Good Life’ while the working-people are left to lament how much they have been deceived.
