President to GAWU membership ….
THE 19th Guyana Agriculture and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) Delegates Congress opened yesterday with President Bharrat Jagdeo re-affirming the government’s support in ensuring the survival, development and expansion of the sugar industry.

Addressing the gathering, which included Prime Minister, Mr Samuel Hinds, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Mr. Donald Ramotar, other government ministers and senior officials, GAWU President Mr. Komal Chand, other trade unionists, overseas guests, delegates and observers at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Greater Georgetown, the President contended that workers too have a role to play in the survival and development of the industry.

Mr. Jagdeo said his administration has been, and will always be the workers’ ally as characterised by its proud tradition of being a champion of workers rights, but noted that “wild cat” strikes will do the industry no good, particularly at this juncture when there is so much going on in the world where economic issues were concerned.

“By all means, strike if you want to; I am not saying don’t strike, but go through the established grievance process. Let us have this done, because we are trying to save this industry too, and we are showing the commitment by the money we put into it,” he told the gathering.

He said that though it is true there was mismanagement of the industry, which was compounded by weather-related problems and Booker Tate not performing in many areas, the fact that there has been a 36 per cent price-cut on sugar and poor attendance among workers should not be ignored.

Pointing to the government’s unwavering faith in the industry and by association its workers in spite of the many setbacks, the President said: “What is also true, is that the government has spent US$200M on the Skeldon factory to build one of the most modern factories in the world; the biggest investment ever made in this country, and another US$12M on the Enmore Packaging plant.”

After the applause, which the foregoing observation had engendered, subsided, he said the government’s willingness to plough such huge sums of money into sugar was representative of its promise to engender prosperity into the industry, which is unlike what obtains in some countries which have decided to close their operations.

“There is a commitment,” he stressed, “and it is not rhetoric; it’s US$212M [and] it represents a commitment on the part of the government.”

Noting that that money could have been better spent elsewhere, and that workers need to put their shoulders to the wheel if the industry is to prosper, the President said:

“I am prepared to say: ‘Give the workers the industry, and if you make money, you get all of the profit… You get all the money you can make; you get every single bit of profit; you pay your own wages and increase them by 200 per cent … If you make a big profit, you give every worker a billion dollars or a million dollars.’ I am prepared to do that.

“But you know why you would not agree with that… You would not agree with that because right now, the industry is making a huge loss.

“We can always talk about [wage] increase, but we have to face the reality of the industry, and we want to save it for all of us, so that sugar contributes to our economy… and the life of all the workers and the people who rely on the industry.”

But for this to happen, he said, everyone in the industry will have to pull their weight, secure in the knowledge that though we may be going through a rough patch now, better days will come.

GAWU’s Komal Chand acknowledged the government’s support for the industry but said more still needs to be done to better the welfare of workers.

This aside, he said that Guyana has made significant progress over the past three years, namely in the construction of the Guyana National Stadium for the staging of Cricket World Cup in 2007 and the completion of the Berbice and Takatu River bridges among other successes.

He however lamented the fact that there is still a division in the trade union movement and stressed that the Guyana Trade Union’s Congress (GTUC) is yet to heed the call of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) for a unified movement.

Mr Ramotar, in his presentation, lauded GAWU’s achievements in the struggle for workers rights and better working conditions, and noted that its vibrant advocacy in this regard over the years has seen it now representing workers in many other areas of work.

He said the PPP enjoys a fruitful and special relationship with GAWU in the struggle for workers rights and working conditions and has ratified more International Labour Organisations (ILO) Conventions than any other country in the region.

This achievement along with the many legislations passed in the National Assembly to protect workers, he said, were testimony of the government’s unwavering support for the people of the working class.

He said the challenges of 36 per cent price cuts on sugar which will come into full effect in October this year cannot be ignored as the industry stands to lose some $9B in revenue per annum.

He reiterated that in order for the industry to overcome the concomitant challenges, the government has embarked on a strategy to minimise costs and maximise production in the industry.

He said that on the whole, the government has intensified its fight to root out corruption at the various levels of society, and that such things should be relegated to the past.

He too called for the unification of the trade union movement as this would be in the best interest of workers.

During the opening ceremony, which lasted more than three hours, fraternal messages were read from several local and overseas labour movements, notably Trinidad & Tobago, Grenada, Jamaica and the USA.

These messages called for successful Congress deliberations, greater attention to agriculture and agriculture production and support for President’s Jagdeo’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

The contribution of former Presidents of the nation, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and his wife, Mrs. Janet Jagan to GAWU and their struggles for workers rights and working conditions were also recognised.

Senior lecturer at the prestigious Institute of Social Studies (ISS)which is based in the Hague, Holland, Dr. Freek Schiphorst delivered the feature address at the occasion themed ‘Advancing Social Development Through Greater Workers’ Democracy’.

The business session of the Congress will be convened tomorrow and Tuesday at the JC Chandisingh Secondary School at Port Mourant, Berbice.