The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), at this time, cannot fail to pay tribute and homage to the Union’s former Honorary President, Dr Cheddi Jagan. Cde Cheddi, as he was more fondly known, had a long association with GAWU and, more so, the struggles of the sugar workers and in fact workers generally. History records that he always stood on the side of the workers and the downtrodden during his lifetime.
Indeed, Cde Cheddi’s name has become synonymous with Guyana and its many proud accomplishments. From his entry into politics in the 1940’s at an age when many persons now-a-days are hardly ready to walk in such big shoes, Cheddi’s commitment to the people, especially the working-people, remained undiminished up until he left us 22 years ago. His several notable accomplishments as a consummate politician are well-known and his stature as a statesman is renowned and is testimony to the giant of a man he was. For the GAWU, sometimes those outstanding features of him overshadow the remarkable achievements he scored in the Trade Union movement. His trade union activism saw him in the early years close to the Sawmill and Forest Workers Union and to workers’ struggles in the sugar industry.
As we pay tribute to Dr Jagan, the GAWU cannot fail to take stock of the current-day workers struggles in Guyana. Given our country’s rich and cherished history of workers activism and the notable distinction of the establishment of the first Trade Union in the British Colonial Empire, now one hundred years ago, it is disheartening to recognize the situation of today. Of more recent, we have seen the spirited struggle of the bauxite workers to have their rights respected by a foreign-owned company. The disrespect of workers’ rights cannot be condoned. It is widely recognized that those rights are now enshrined in law and were won by the current and previous generations of workers.
But, at the same time, we cannot ignore the attitude of the current Government to workers matters generally. The removal from our national landscape of a full-fledged Ministry of Labour sends, in our view, a clear signal of the Administration’s level of concern for workers matters and issues. It is apposite to note that the Ministry of Labour was established by the 1953 Cheddi Jagan Government and it was maintained by all the pre and post-independent Governments until May, 2015 when the current Coalition took office.
We have also seen the responses of the Government regarding actions and utterances regarding the protests actions by our nation’s teachers last year. The statements which emanated from some quarters of the Government only served to confirm the widely-held view that the Administration has a dim view about workers matters. The absence of Collective Bargaining is another matter we cannot ignore, recognizing especially, that the Administration campaigned on this issue. Incidentally, it should be recognized that it is the Dr Jagan-led PPP/C Administration which made Collective Bargaining a right through the Trade Union Recognition Act which became law a few months after Cde Cheddi left us.
Dr Jagan, as is well-known, had a long association with the struggles of the sugar workers. That association brought them to new heights and saw them realizing several of their aspirations. As we recall Cde Cheddi’s contribution, in this regard, we cannot ignore the now-a-days plight of our nation’s sugar workers. The placing of 7,000 workers on the breadline has to be among the most irresponsible decisions ever taken in our post-independent history. Today, the suffering and misery that lay on the doorsteps of tens of thousands of Guyanese occasioned by the void of the closure of estates without any attendant replacement or support by the State can only be seen as reckless decision-making by the powers-that-be. For the workers who remain connected to the industry, they have been victims of what can be seen as naked-discrimination. As is now a known-fact, sugar workers remain the only group of the State’s workers who have not gotten any improvement in pay since the current crop of executive political leaders took up their posts. The workers, like all the nation’s workers, are being crushed by the heavy cost-of-living and harsh realities of life.
Paying tribute to Dr Jagan, at this time, when our country, it seems, is going full-steam ahead into uncharted waters focuses attention to his selfless struggles and advocacy of workers causes. Some have described that the coming post-March 21 situation as the worst Constitutional crisis since the 1953 Constitutional suspension which removed the Cheddi Jagan-led Administration at that time. It is disheartening to recognize what seems to be the open disrespect to our democratic culture and institutions by those entrusted in upholding them. Dr Jagan’s speeches and writings are filled with lessons than can guide us as we face up to these new challenges and continue in our various struggles. However, some things stand out. His fight for democracy and arguing that it is a condition for development is still applicable today not just to Guyana but other countries too.
In the vault of such rich memories of Cde Cheddi Jagan, we find another gem. He was a fighter for World Peace. He was Vice-President of the World Peace Council, a body that conducted activities throughout the world in opposition to unjust imperialist war-mongering, a body that championed world peace in the face of the threat of nuclear conflagration of our planet. Today, world peace has again become a central question before mankind. More than ever the question of world peace must engage our attention. Let us walk in the footsteps of our celebrated leader.
Twenty-two (22) years have gone by since Cde Cheddi took leave of us. We well remember today those qualities that have made him an outstanding leader. In our complicated times and in confronting unusual challenges, he is gravely missed. But, we take comfort in the thought that he left us a legacy which, if creatively followed in these dynamic times will serve as a guiding compass in our many-sided struggles for a better, democratic and peaceful future.
