Georgetown, Guyana – October 13, 2026 — The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) Cooperative Credit Union Society Ltd, along with its members from four sugar estates, conducted a peaceful picketing exercise yesterday. They demanded that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) immediately remit the outstanding savings from workers’ wages that have been deducted for the Credit Union.
Since March of this year, GuySuCo has been consistently deducting Credit Union savings from sugar workers’ weekly wages but has failed to remit these funds to the GAWU Cooperative Credit Union. These funds do not belong to the Corporation; they represent the hard-earned savings of workers, who sacrifice part of their wages week after week to save for their families’ future.
Despite repeated commitments from GuySuCo’s management, including a written promise on August 27, 2026, to pay 50% of the outstanding amounts, the Corporation has not fulfilled its obligations. Not a single dollar from the promised payment has been made. Instead, GuySuCo continues to use workers’ savings to cover its operational deficiencies.
The impact of this non-payment is devastating. Workers are being denied access to their own money needed for crucial expenses, such as school fees, medical bills, and basic household needs. Furthermore, the GAWU Cooperative Credit Union is facing a severe liquidity crisis due to withheld funds, which threatens its ability to provide essential financial support to thousands of workers and their families.
GAWU calls on the management and board of GuySuCo to immediately release these funds. We also urge the Minister of Agriculture and the Government of Guyana to intervene urgently to ensure that GuySuCo fulfills its obligation to the workers by promptly remitting their savings.
The continued withholding of these funds is unacceptable and is causing significant hardship.
GAWU Cooperative Credit Union Society Limited
