Today, the first of May, belongs to you. It belongs to every worker who rises before dawn, who labours under the sun and rain, who returns home tired but proud. It belongs to the sugar worker in Albion, Blairmont, Uitvlugt, and Rose Hall. It belongs to the rice farmer, the agro-processor, the dockworker, the domestic helper, the market vendor, the security guard, the driver. It belongs to every person who uses their hands and their heart to build this nation.
I bring you warm fraternal greetings from the Executive Committee of GAWU, from our shop stewards on every estate, and from our thousands of loyal members across Guyana. GAWU today stands proud – independent, strong, and unwavering in our commitment to our members and the working people of this country.
We also extend our respect to the Government of Guyana. The PPP/C is a government that has shown genuine partnership with labour. We do not take that for granted. We have worked together – and we will continue to work together – for the dignity and prosperity of every Guyanese worker.
Our theme this year is true and timely: “The Wealth of the Nation is its Workers: Securing a Just Share in Guyana’s Rise.”
Comrades, Guyana is changing. New roads, new bridges, new hospitals, new schools – the face of our country is being remade. International observers call us the fastest-growing economy in the world. Oil revenues are opening doors we never dreamed of.
But let us never forget: The workers’ contribution in all of this. Every brick, every beam, every bag of sugar, every grain of rice, every patient healed, every child taught – that is your labour. That is your proud sweat to the nation-building.
And because you have given so much, you deserve to share fully in the wealth you have created. That is the heart of our message today. Not as a favour. Not as charity but as a right.
As we celebrate this 2026 May Day, let me remind you of what GAWU has achieved for its members in recent times.
We celebrated 50 years of GAWU’s historic recognition in the sugar industry. Five decades. Fifty years of standing firm when others would have liked us to bend. Fifty years of fighting for justice equally for workers on the sugar estates. Fifty years of burying our fallen comrades and raising new leaders. That golden jubilee was not a celebration of GAWU alone – it was a celebration of every worker who never gave up.
We had the tremendous honour of hosting the 7th IUF Caribbean Regional Conference right here in Georgetown. The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations – the IUF – brought delegates from across the Caribbean to our shores. For one full week, GAWU was the proud host. And I must record our deepest thanks to the Honourable Minister who not only served as the featured speaker at the opening session – inspiring us all with a vision of social partnership – and also generously sponsored the closing dinner reception at the Royal International Hotel. That sponsorship was a tangible act of solidarity, and we remain profoundly grateful.
Most concretely for your pockets, we fought and won a historic three-year wage agreement with GuySuCo. After months of hard bargaining, with your union representatives standing firm, we secured an industry minimum wage of $100,000 per month. That agreement puts billions of Guyanese dollars back into the hands of sugar workers and their families. It proves a simple truth: when workers are united, when we stand together, when we fight together, we win together.
We witnessed the signing of Guyana’s third Decent Work Country Programme, a tripartite commitment between government, unions, and employers. This programme promises stronger protections, expanded training, and a more formalised path to decent work for thousands of Guyanese who currently labour in the shadows of the informal economy.
The government has taken meaningful steps to ease the burden on working families. The increase in the income tax threshold to $140,000 per month puts more money in your pay pocket. The expansion of part-time work for old-age pensioners allows our seniors to remain active and supplement their incomes with dignity. These are pro-worker policies, and GAWU commends them.
These are real achievements. They came because GAWU members stood together, because we engaged in constructive dialogue, and because this government, led by President Dr Mohamed Irfan Ali, respects the role of trade unions.
Now, comrades, let us speak honestly about the challenges that remain – not to complain, but to find solutions together.
The cost of living continues to press on our families. Yes, wages have risen. Yes, taxes have been reduced. But prices for food, rent, transportation, and utilities have also risen. Many households still feel the pinch.
This is not a problem unique to Guyana. It is global – inflation, climate change, supply chain disruptions. No government can fix it overnight. But we believe that with continued partnership, we can do more.
GAWU respectfully offers the following recommendations to our government:
A continued review of the national minimum wage. While sugar workers have secured $100,000, many other workers – especially in the informal sector – need protection. We ask for a national minimum wage that reflects the true cost of a dignified life.
Enhanced price monitoring and targeted relief for basic food items. When flour, rice, and cooking oil become too expensive, working families suffer most. We have seen successful models in other Caribbean nations. Guyana can lead.
Accelerated affordable housing for low-income workers. A worker without a secure home cannot rest. We commend the government’s housing drive and the efforts for affordable access to financing.
These are not demands. They are proposals from a partner. GAWU sits on the same side as the government – the side that wants every Guyanese to live well.
Let me speak to the sectors GAWU represents.
Sugar: The industry is modernising. New machinery, new techniques. GAWU supports modernisation that secures the industry’s future and protects jobs. We ask for continued investment in retraining so that no worker is left behind by technology.
Rice: Our rice farmers feed the nation and the region. They face volatile prices and the effects of climate change. GAWU calls for continued government support – fair pricing, access to export markets, and a Rice Workers’ Support Fund.
Informal and domestic workers: Thousands of our sisters labour in homes, markets, and casual work without contracts, without NIS, without sick leave. GAWU applauds the government’s commitment to extending protections to these workers.
Public sector workers: Nurses, teachers, police, prison officers – they are workers too. GAWU supports the Government’s efforts in addressing issues affecting them and through collective bargaining, to improve their lives.
Comrades, we cannot talk about Guyana’s rise without talking about oil.
Oil revenues are transforming our nation’s finances. The Natural Resource Fund grows by the day. This is a blessing, but it comes with responsibility.
GAWU’s position is clear: Oil wealth must build a diversified, resilient, and inclusive economy. That means:
- Investing in agriculture and agro-processing so we add value to what we grow.
- Funding technical and vocational education so every young worker has a skill.
- Strengthening our social safety net – pensions, healthcare, public assistance.
- Building infrastructure that serves working communities.
We commend the government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy and its commitment to transparency. We encourage even greater public disclosure of oil revenues – not out of mistrust, but out of a shared desire for accountability. When workers see where the money goes, trust grows.
The wealth of Guyana belongs to the people of Guyana. With wise stewardship, oil can lift every family.
Comrades, May Day is a global day. Workers everywhere struggle for dignity.
GAWU stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean, in Africa, in Asia, and the Americas. We condemn the exploitation of migrant workers. We support the right of all people to organise and bargain collectively.
Guyana is a small nation, but we have a big heart. We will continue to be a voice for justice on the regional and global stage – on our own terms, as GAWU.
We stand on the shoulders of giants.
We pay homage to the Haymarket martyrs of 1886, who gave their lives for the eight-hour work day and for May Day itself.
We remember Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, the father of trade unionism in Guyana, who first organised the dockworkers, demonstrating that in unity there is power.
We remember the sugar workers of 1948 who struck for 80 days and their five comrades known as the Enmore Martyrs. We remember those who were beaten, arrested, and blacklisted simply for demanding respect.
We remember our own fallen GAWU comrades – workers who died in accidents, who retired into poverty, who left us too soon.
We honour them. We cannot betray their memory. We will continue the struggle – peacefully, democratically, and with unwavering resolve.
So, comrades, what must GAWU do?
Stay united as division serves only those who wish to exploit us. Inside GAWU, there is no room for racial politics, for partisan loyalty above the worker, for personal ambition above collective good. We are one union, one family, one voice.
Organise. Every unorganised workplace is an opportunity. Every worker without a union card is a potential GAWU member. In the coming year, we will redouble our efforts to bring new sectors – fast food, hotel, agro-processing, distribution, security, domestic work – under our banner.
Remain constructive partners with the PPP/C – President Dr Mohamed Irfan Ali led government. We will praise when praise is due – and indeed much is due. When we see room for improvement, we will speak respectfully, with proposals for the betterment of all.
Never forget your power. Our power does not come from titles or connections. It comes from our collective strength – thousands of GAWU members standing shoulder to shoulder. Alone, we are weak. Together, we are unstoppable.
Comrades, Guyana is rising. That is not a slogan – it is a fact.
But the kind of rise we build is up to us. Will it be a rise that benefits only a few? Or will it be a rise that lifts every GAWU member, every worker, every family?
We choose the second path.
We choose a Guyana where every sugar worker retires with dignity.
We choose a Guyana where every rice farmer prospers.
We choose a Guyana where every domestic worker has a contract and a pension.
We choose a Guyana where oil wealth builds schools, clinics, and homes – not just fortunes.
We choose a Guyana where the worker is honoured, not forgotten.
That is the Guyana we are building – together with our government, together with our allies, together with every one of you.
So let us march. Let us sing. Let us raise our voices.
Long live the working class!
Long live GAWU!
Long live the Government of Guyana – our partner in progress!
Long live International Workers’ Day!
Happy May Day to every GAWU member and every worker in Guyana!
