The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has recognised that one-month old Irfaan Ali administration has hit the ground running and is working assiduously on delivering its campaign promises. One the Administration’s foremost commitments was to re-open the closed Skeldon, Rose Hall and Enmore estates which were shuttered by the APNU+AFC at the end of 2017. Even prior to his election, President Ali had admitted that it was very difficult to resuscitate Wales Estate which was closed in 2016 as the estate’s factory has largely been dismantled and what basically remained was a shell. We have seen the President committing to establish a Wales Development Authority aimed at creating new economic ventures in the communities linked to the former sugar estate.
In terms of Skeldon, Rose Hall and Enmore estates, the GAWU was heartened to learn from no lesser than the President himself that he remains not only committed to re-opening the estates but resuscitating and rebuilding the entire sugar industry. This commitment was reiterated to our Union when we engaged Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustpha not too long ago. It is no secret that the Coalition treated the industry as a cast away. We contend that the former Government had one intention and that was to weaken the industry to the point of collapse. We do not believe that our claim is outlandish as we saw just a few weeks ago former President David Granger ignoring a request from GuySuCo for a lifeline. Mr Granger only acted when the GuySuCo’s plea became public and, in our view, he and his Government had every intention of causing the industry to grind to a halt.
We are aware that special management teams, led by experienced sugar administrators, have been installed at the closed estates. We understand that the teams are currently evaluating the state of the factories and cultivations. The estates have been virtually abandoned for nearly three (3) years now as the former Administration’s plans to keep the estates operable until their planned divestment fell through. The resuscitation of these estates will not come easily nor cheaply but we believe the investment is worthwhile. In this regard, we recognised that the 2020 National Budget has earmarked funds to be channeled into three (3) estates to begin rehabilitation works.
Of course, the resumption of operations are most eagerly anticipated by the thousands of workers who were put on the breadline. For many of those workers, the last three (3) years have been the most difficult of their lives. Many of them were forced to entertain thoughts they probably never did before. They had to wonder many days how they would eat, or how to pay their bills or send their children to school. Many of the little pleasures of life they enjoyed while they were employed became figments of their imagination. Their communities were equally impacted and the shop owners, market vendors, fishermen, bus and taxi operators who depended on the workers were severely impacted. The communities were described as having their lives sucked out from them and gloom became the new normal.
A socio-economic study which was commissioned by the ILO, arising from GAWU’s representation after the former Government bluntly refused to conduct such an important assessment, demonstrated the direness of the situation the workers and their communities are facing. The report which is presently being finalized has made startling and revealing findings. While, at this time, we are not allowed to use the data pending the report’s release by the ILO, we have been able to examine some of the findings and have recognised the sad realities facing the former sugar workers. We are hopeful soon we can be able to speak in a fuller manner from the report.
It is in this context that the GAWU welcomes and fully supports the re-opening of the estates. Our Union had long recognised the dreadful realities found by the study commissioned and warned the APNU+AFC. That Government remained deaf to the Union and workers calls and shut the estates down without a second thought. At this time, many workers are looking forward to resuming employment and seeking to put their lives back together. For some, unfortunately, life cannot go back to the way it once was. Moreover, we are hopeful that children who were forced to leave school can resume their learning and realise their dreams and aspirations. Indeed, the workers, we believe, have come to cherish their jobs even more dearly and have experienced firsthand the heartlessness of the Coalition.
As work begins to accelerate on the closed estates, the GAWU is willing to lend its experience and expertise and to play an active role in ensure that the re-opened estates are able to efficient and productively operated. Moreover, we see the need for a similar emphasis on the currently operable – Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt estates. We recognise that those estates, despite all the fanfare from the Coalition when it was in power, have also been ignored. Those estates are also at their lowest ebb and require focused attention. On this score, we have been informed about plans to install soon a new Board of Directors and to review the current management of the state-owned Corporation. This we see as a positive step but hold too that the contributions of the workers, who were badly battered by the APNU+AFC, should not be ignored. Currently, the workforce is demotivated having seen many of their benefits just ignored or cast aside and there is a meaningful need to address this sad situation. Indeed, we contend the workers play the most critical role and their input should not be disregarded.
With renewed focus and a commitment to the sugar industry’s turnaround and sustainability, the GAWU is excited to see what the future will bring. As a responsible and significant stakeholder we will continue to play a proactive role in those efforts. We believe that sugar’s best days are still ahead and many opportunities exist for a secured future. The GAWU holds there is no need to re-invent the wheel but to grasp at the available opportunities, creatively and innovatively. We believe with capable management, a supportive shareholder and a motivated workforce the industry can reach new heights and play an even more meaningful role in our nation.
