Every year on this day, we gather on this sacred ground to remember five ordinary sugar workers – Lallabagee Kissoon, Rambarran, Pooran, Surujbali and Harry who were gunned down in the prime of their youth, not by a foreign invader, but by colonial police under the command of a British governor. They fell not for a flag or a piece of land, but for the most basic of human rights: the right to be heard, a living wage and the freedom to organise and belong to a union of their choice.
Today, we do not come in defeat. We come in defiance. We come to say that while they lost their lives, we are living their dream of a better life.
The story of the Enmore Martyrs is the story of modern Guyana. From the brutality of plantation slavery to the exploitation of indentureship, to colonialism and finally to independence.
In 1948, those five heroic workers and their comrades did what the colonial system considered unthinkable: they demanded trade union recognition. They rejected the idea that a man could work from sunrise to sunset and still not earn enough to feed his family. Governor Sir Gordon Lethem responded with lethal force. The colonial administration called the workers rioters. But in fact, they are the footprints that led the path for the liberation of this beautiful land, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
Look around today, you will see that our sugar industry is still standing, and our country is lustfully breeding progress as a result of the sacrifices of the Enmore Martyrs. We must never forget that survival has come at a great cost. We recall with heavy hearts the period between 2015 and 2020, when the APNU+AFC administration launched a vicious assault on the sugar industry. They closed estates – Wales, Skeldon, Enmore and Rose Hall and sent over 7,000 of our comrades onto the breadline, creating significant socioeconomic disruption affecting families, small businesses and the entire surrounding villages. The workers were not paid their entitled severance, until GAWU took the Government to Court and to add salt to the wound, workers were charged $500 per day to fish in the Estate cultivation at Skeldon.
Comrades, those were dark days. Families were forced to eat one meal a day. Children were forced to leave school. Workers were displaced, and some turned to alcohol and a few to suicide. But thanks to the intervention of the PPP/C Government, the destruction was stopped. The reopening of the Rose Hall Estate in Berbice represents a step towards recovery and renewed confidence.
Comrades, as I stand here, I wish to directly address the critics who claim that the Government is wasting money on sugar. They say sugar is a sunset industry. They say we should import everything. But we say the investment in sugar is investment in the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of Guyanese families. They want to import sugar, we want to export sugar. They see a dead industry, we see an agro-industrial hub rising from the ashes.
Let me read the record. In Budget 2026 alone, the Government allocated a massive $13.4 billion to the sugar industry, aimed at modernisation, mechanisation, factory upgrades and expanded value-added production. Over 41 per cent of GuySuCo’s cultivation has already been mechanised, and we are moving to between 50 and 60 per cent this year. Significant factory upgrades are underway, including the replacement of rollers, turbines and conveyor systems to improve juice extraction rates.
Comrades, the Government did not stop there. Just last week, the Government tabled a supplementary budget which included an additional $3 billion for the Guyana Sugar Corporation. Let me repeat: an extra $3 billion on top of the original $13.4 billion. That means total support for the sugar industry in 2026 now stands at $16.4 billion. This is not just support – this is a full rescue mission. This is the PPP/C Government demonstrating that it will not let the sugar industry die under their watch.
Comrades, the future looks brighter than it had in a decade. Let the numbers speak for themselves. In the first crop of 2025, production was 15,954 tonnes of sugar. The first crop of 2026 production was 19,031 tonnes of sugar. That is an increase of 3,077 tonnes representing 19.3 per cent rise in production compared to the same period. Some doom sayers said we will never recover. This is not a miracle. This is the result of the workers’ sweat, dedication and the unwavering support of President Irfan Alli led Government, that cares.
Just a few weeks ago, the Rose Hall and Albion estates demonstrated what is possible when we work together as a team. For the week ending March 7, 2026, the two estates surpassed their target and earned a day’s pay as weekly production incentive. This was particularly significant for Rose Hall, which recorded its highest production figures since its reopening in 2023. The Estate Manager attributed the improvement to stronger collaboration and operational coordination, stating: “This improvement we see at Rose Hall is due to factory employees and field staff working closely as a team”.
But comrades, let me be very clear. These improvements, while welcome, are not yet good enough. The Government has provided substantial support and is deserving of just results. Management can and must do better. There must be a new sense of belonging with a deep commitment of responsibility.
Every dollar must be spent wisely: on fixing broken factories, on training our workers, on maintaining equipment, and on improving efficiency. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past where money disappeared without a trace. We must capitalise on favourable weather patterns, on the dedication of our workforce, and on the growing demand for our sugar Regionally. If we miss these opportunities, we fail the martyrs whose blood watered this soil.
Comrades, alongside production, we have also won real improvements in workers’ welfare. Working together with this Government, our Union secured a historic three-year wage agreement that now guarantees a minimum monthly pay of $100,000 for every sugar worker in this country. This is the direct result of a Government that listens and a Union that understands the process of Collective Bargaining.
His Excellency President Ali has said that rebuilding our sugar industry is a “massive undertaking,” too essential to the rural economy to be allowed to collapse again. There is already a commitment to “bring in” international technical support to help fix the factories that are underperforming.
Comrade Chairman, least I be mis-understood, let me say for the records while we commend the Government. Our job as GAWU is to hold feet to the fire. We remain vigilant. We will continue to press the management of GuySuCo to ensure that money is translated into repairs and progress not waste. We will continue to ensure that the $100,000 minimum wage is just the floor, not the ceiling. And we will continue to fight for better safety conditions on the estates.
Comrade Chairman, we cannot continue to have the Management of GuySuCo deduct workers’ savings for the Credit Union and not pay it over in a timely manner. Mr President, you are a friend of the workers and we know you would like them to have some savings in difficult times. Sir, please help us not to allow the management of GuySuCo to shut down the GAWU Credit Union. We have been providing valuable service to our members for almost thirty-five years.
Comrades, as we pay tribute today, let us renew our oath to the martyrs. They died with empty hands, but today our nation lives with full stomachs from what they left us. We must not rest until the industry is fully modernised, until every community on the sugar belt is revived and until the names of Lallabagee Kissoon, Rambarran, Pooran, Surujbali and Harry are spoken not just with sadness, but with the pride of victory.
The Government has given us the fuel. Management must deliver. GAWU as a social partner will provide the direction to you, the workers, who are the engine.
As we move forward with confidence of a better tomorrow, together we must carry the torch until the final victory – One Guyana. May we continue to be inspired by the Martyrs.
Long live the Enmore Martyrs! Long live GAWU! Long live the working class of Guyana!
