– GAWU’s President Seepaul Narine address to 2025 Enmore Martyrs day rally
Today, we gather to observe the 77th anniversary of one of the most tragic incidents in our country’s History —the Enmore Martyrs Massacre. It was on this very soil, on June 16, 1948, that five young sugar workers— Lallabagee, Dookie, Rambarran, Harry, and Pooran—were brutally gunned down for daring to stand up along with their colleagues against the colonial power for dignity, for fairness, for their rights as workers. They were shot in the back, not just by bullets, but by a system rooted in exploitation, colonial arrogance, and a heartless disregard for human life and labour.
We stand here to honour their sacrifice and the sacrifices of thousands who toiled and struggled in the sugar belt of British Guiana. We are here to ensure their story is never forgotten and their dreams live on.
Comrades, let us never forget that the blood of these martyrs stained the fields of Enmore in protest of inhumane conditions, starvation wages, and unrelenting exploitation. Their call was for a better life but their reward was a hail of bullets from a colonial system that saw sugar workers as little more than beasts of burden. The planters and their handmaidens—those in the colonial administration, their enablers, and the elites of the day—held only contempt for the men and women who fed the colonial economy with the sweat of their brows and the strength of their backs.
This was no mere industrial dispute. It was a confrontation between an elite colonial class and the working class—between the plantation system and a rising tide of workers’ consciousness. The planters’ response was high-handed and cold-blooded. They chose violence over dialogue, repression and bullets over reason. They believed that the voices would be silenced, and the workers would not dare to challenge them again.
But, comrades, they were wrong.
Out of the ashes of that terrible day, rose a fire that could not be extinguished. It was a fire of consciousness, of mobilisation, of unity and resistance. It was a fire that found expression in the work of the Guiana Industrial Workers Union (GIWU), under the courageous and visionary leadership of Dr. Cheddi Jagan and later his People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
Dr. Jagan, who played a pivotal role in the struggle, was very much familiar with the comrades who were gunned down. He wrote that the tragedy moved him deeply, and the emotion that overcame him. He recorded his lifelong commitment to freeing the Guyanese people from bondage and exploitation. These were not just words—they were a vow that fuelled a lifelong vow to the struggle for justice, for democracy, and a free and independent Guyana.
The GIWU and its successor, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), became the torchbearers of that struggle. And it was this movement, rooted in the sugar fields and inspired by the martyrdom of five brave men, that laid the foundations for our national liberation.
From Martyrdom to Independence
Comrades, the legacy of Enmore is etched in every gain we have made as a nation. The brutal sacrifice of the Enmore Martyrs gave life to a national movement that would eventually break the chains of colonialism and usher in the political Independence of Guyana in 1966.
It led to the mass organisation of workers across sectors and regions, the building of trade unions, and ultimately the formation of a political movement rooted in the working class. Dr. Jagan, alongside the workers’ movement, played a seminal role in this historic process. It is no accident that GAWU was eventually recognised as the official bargaining agent for field and factory sugar workers—a recognition that represented not just a legal status, but a moral vindication of our long and painful struggle.
From the blood-soaked canefields of Enmore to the halls of Parliament and State House, the voice of the workers became a force that could no longer be ignored.
The Sugar Industry: Pillar of the Nation
Comrades, the sugar industry has long been the backbone of our nation’s economy. For generations, it has remained the single largest employer, a source of foreign exchange, and the foundation of hundreds of communities across Guyana. The sugar industry through the sugar levy, built schools, health clinics, roads, and towns while the industry itself fed our families and educated our children.
But sugar has always been more than an industry. It is a way of life, a social force, and a symbol of our shared history—of indentureship, of slavery, of struggle, and of survival. The sweat of the sugar workers fertilised the soil of this nation’s growth. And let us be clear: any attempt to dismiss or diminish the contribution of sugar is an attempt to erase the very history of our people!
We must recall with sorrow and outrage the recent past, when the sugar industry came under vicious assault from those who had no care for its value, its workers, or the communities that depended on it. The closure of estates— Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales —by the APNU+AFC administration caused untold suffering. Thousands were thrown on the breadline. Families were broken. Communities were devastated, a few committed suicide, while promises of diversification and compensation were all hollow.
These actions were not only economically reckless—they were morally indefensible. It was a betrayal of the working class and a rejection of the legacy of the Enmore Martyrs. We must always be vigilant, for there are still those who would dismantle what generations built with blood, sweat, and sacrifice.
But today, there is hope once more in the sugar belt. Since 2020, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government, under the astute leadership of President Irfaan Ali, has worked with resolve to revive and revitalise the sugar industry, to bring relief to affected communities, and to restore dignity to the working class. For the first time in the history of the sugar industry in 2024, our Union and GuySuCo signed a three years wage/salary agreement that provides for increased remuneration and other improvements in conditions of work. This is not cheap talk or empty promises, but a tangible investment and a clear demonstration of a caring and compassionate Government.
Comrades in the sugar industry, we have seen real investments, the reopening of estates, training and reskilling initiatives, and a renewed sense of purpose. We have seen jobs being created, lives being rebuilt, and faith being restored. We have witnessed a government that does not only speak of workers’ rights, but act to protect and promote same.
President Irfaan Ali’s leadership has been nothing short of transformative—not only for sugar, but for all sectors of our economy. He has led a national renewal, creating opportunities for youths, empowering women, improving infrastructure, and setting Guyana on a path to become a modern, diversified, and prosperous nation. And in all of this, he has never forgotten where we came from. He has honoured the working class, honoured the martyrs, and honoured the ideals of Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
A Call for Continuity
Comrades, the prosperous future of Guyana is being built before our eyes. We are living through a moment of great opportunity. The gains we have made must be protected and strengthened. The progress we see must continue for the working people and generations to come.
Comrades, under the term of President Ali to date, the Ministry of Labour has signed one hundred and two (102) Collective Labour Agreements. Never in the history of any other term of Government. President Ali, in you and your Government, the workers have found a friend and comrade.
Against that background, on behalf of the Executive Committee and membership of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), I proudly and unequivocally endorse President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and the PPP/C for a second term in office. President Ali and his Government have shown, in words and deeds, a deep and unwavering commitment to the working class for a better life. The measures piloted through the successive Budgets of his Administration alongside other initiatives, including cash grants, increased income tax allowances and toll-free travel, among a long list, are testament to where the President heart lies.
The legacy of the martyrs will live on—not by us standing still in mourning, but by moving forward in purpose and fulfilling the things that the Martyrs struggled for.
Let us not allow ourselves to be misled by the detractors, those who seek to sow division and dismantle progress. Let us not forget the hardships, the closures, and betrayals of the past. Let us hold fast to those who have stood with us in moments of darkness and led us into light.
The Enduring Strength of the Martyrs
As we stand here, seventy-seven (77) years later, let us lift our eyes and our hearts to the memory of Lallabagee, Dookie, Rambarran, Harry, and Pooran. They were workers. They were sons. They were husbands. They were also dreamers for a better Guyana.
They wanted nothing more than what was fair. And for that, they paid the ultimate price which changed the course of history.
Their legacy lives in every sugar worker who stands tall today, in every trade union that fights for justice, in every Guyanese child who dreams of a better tomorrow.
We honour them by continuing the fight for fairness. We honour them by building a society that is just, inclusive, and proud of its working-class roots. We honour them by ensuring that the sugar industry continues to thrive—not just for its economic value, but for its place in our history.
So, as we lay wreaths and pay tribute let us renew our commitment—to the workers, to the industry, and to the future of this beautiful land with its people being led by this young dynamic, visionary President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and his team.
Long live the memory of the Enmore Martyrs!
Long live the sugar workers of Guyana!
Solidarity forever.
Thank you.
