– GAWU remembers Cde Komal Chand as we bid goodbye to 2020
As we will soon depart 2020 the GAWU, as has now become an annual tradition, takes this opportunity to reflect on the year that has gone that is nearing an end. 2020 was indeed history making on several fronts and one that mankind will not soon forget. The year has reminded us of how dependent we are on one another. It showed us that despite all our advancements how easily life can be halted and turned upside down. But it demonstrated to us that despite adversity and challenge our collective actions can surmount the obstacles that are put in our way.
As we considered 2020, we remember our Union’s late President, Cde Komal Chand, a champion of the working-class. Cde Komal who passed away earlier this year served the GAWU with dedication, commitment and selflessness. Outside of GAWU, he served as Vice President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and a member of the Presidential Council of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). His commitment to the advancement of the working-class was unwavering and is a testament to the ideals he subscribed to during his lifetime. Cde Komal stood tall in the battles in defence of the workers and he earned the respect and admiration of those around him. His contributions will forever be remembered and his legacy and teachings will live on.
We also, at this time, remember another dear comrade of GAWU, Feroze Mohamed who also passed away earlier this year. Cde Feroze, during his lifetime, though not an active trade unionist always stood in defence of the workers. He espoused working-class ideals and recognised the need for unity among the ranks of the working-class. Cde Feroze was always willing to lend his support and ideas to the struggles of the workers. Probably his most tangible contribution regarded workers education. Much of his lessons on various topics continue to be used on to now demonstrating the depth and breadth of his knowledge. In more recent years, Cde Feroze became even closer to the GAWU and continued to share his time and views as workers struggles for betterment reached high points. Indeed, like Cde Komal, Cde Feroze will be missed. We use this opportunity to remember too, other stalwarts and activists of GAWU who passed on during the year. We recognise their many and varied contributions to the struggles of the working-class and the realization of several achievements.
As 2020 reaches a hopeful conclusion, we recognise many challenges still face the working people of Guyana. We recognise that too many of our working men and women are still finding difficult to feed their families, to put a shelter over their head, to send their children to school and all in all live happy and contended lives. This is the nightmare that face many people in this Yuletide Season. We recognise too that there has been recently proactive efforts to help to alleviate their plight and to reduce the burdens that were place on their backs over the last five (5) years. This is welcoming and we look forward to further reliefs in 2021.
Sugar industry – hopeful sense of renewal!
As a Union which draws a large contingent of its membership from the sugar industry, our reflection cannot fail to include this important economic activity. The industry, despite its trials and travails, remains pivotal and is a source of well-being for tens of thousands of Guyanese. It is to this day, the nation’s single largest employer and a beacon of hope for scores of communities. Indeed, the industry’s contribution is monumental and its sustenance is a matter that cannot be treated lightly.
It was, therefore, for the GAWU most disheartening to recognise the treatment meted out to the industry and its stakeholders over the last five (5) years. The industry though a child of the State was treated worse than a step child, pushed out into the cold and left to fend with scraps and bits thrown from the table. This was the disgraceful attitude of those who had to be ejected from the seat of Government. The industry was reduced to groveling while the former powers-that-be stepped on it, seeking to strip it of its prized assets. They said they wanted the industry to thrive, but starved it of the necessary inputs to ensure its success. We of the GAWU steadfastly hold that it was a deliberate and calculated attempt to slow poison the industry into death.
As history has shown us time and again, the wicked never succeed and the oppressors are always conquered. Though it could not come soon enough as was famously said “even the longest night has an end”. Indeed, the night has ended and the rays of sun have begun to shine brilliantly. Today, we see serious and aggressive attempts are being made to breathe new life back into the industry. The GAWU sees many opportunities for the industry’s success and viability. And, we recognise the active attempts to solicit the necessary investment to further these options and to bring the industry to where it really belongs, thriving and succeeding for Guyana and Guyanese.
