THE Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), in paying tribute to its former Honorary President, Dr Cheddi Jagan, says history will record that he always stood on the side of the workers and the downtrodden during his lifetime.

GAWU’s statement is in tribute of the late former President of Guyana, on his 22nd death anniversary.

“Indeed, Cde Cheddi’s name has become synonymous with Guyana and its many proud accomplishments. From his entry into politics in the 1940s at an age when many persons now-a-days are hardly ready to walk in such big shoes. Cheddi’s commitment to the people, especially the working-people, remained undiminished, up until he left us 22 years ago,” GAWU said, adding that Dr Jagan’s notable accomplishments as a consummate politician are well-known, and his stature as a statesman is not only renowned, but is testimony to the giant of a man he was. “For the GAWU, the Union said, “sometimes those outstanding features of him overshadow the remarkable achievements he scored in the Trade Union movement. His trade union activism saw him, in the early years, close to the Sawmill and Forest Workers Union, and to workers’ struggles in the sugar industry.

“As we pay tribute to Dr Jagan, the GAWU cannot fail to take stock of the current-day workers struggles in Guyana. Given our country’s rich and cherished history of workers activism, and the notable distinction of the establishment of the first Trade Union in the British Colonial Empire 100years ago, it is disheartening to recognise the situation of today.

Of more recent, we have seen the spirited struggle of the bauxite workers to have their rights respected by a foreign-owned company. The disrespect of workers’ rights cannot be condoned. It is widely recognised that those rights are now enshrined in law, and were won by the current and previous generations of workers.”

According to GAWU, Dr Jagan, as is well known, had a long association with the struggles of the sugar workers; an association, it said, that brought them to new heights, and saw them realising several of their aspirations.

“As we recall Cde Cheddi’s contribution in this regard, it said in closing, “we cannot ignore the now-a-days plight of our nation’s sugar workers.”