Dear Editor,

THE GAWU saw Mr Peter Joseph’s letter which appeared in the April 26 Guyana Chronicle and the April 27 Kaieteur News. Mr Joseph, like his previous letters, continues futilely to seek to climb the slippery slope on which he has found himself.

Indeed, we are at a loss as to his motivation/s bearing in mind our cogent and rational explanations. Nevertheless, the self-described ‘observer’ continues to hold on to his, obviously, maligned contentions which appears to exist only in his mind.

Mr Joseph in continuing his tirade against our union, argues “[a]ny objective person will see that something is very wrong when political persons have control over state-paid workers.” But we ask, doesn’t the government, which comprises seasoned and not-so-seasoned politicians, have control and direction over workers in the employ of the state? We really cannot understand what the author is trying to say. GAWU, as a responsible union, will continue to provide leadership, advice and guidance to its members, coming from public as well as the private sector, as they seek to reasonably advance their lot and to protect their gains.

The letter-writer next suggests that in “…the interest of unity, democracy and transparency…” to review GAWU’s relations with certain external organisations. Our union has fraternal relations primarily with international trade union bodies and which relations have helped through solidarity to further GAWU and the workers’ struggles and interests. We are comfortable with these relations and welcome their solidarity. In fact, it should be noted that Minister Joseph Harmon in his address to the GAWU sugar conference in September, 2018, in a report prepared by the Ministry of the Presidency, is quoted to have said, “I must say that at every point along the way that there have been aggressive representation on behalf of the workers by the union. Not only the unions were there, the representatives from the factories were also present and they made their positions clear as well.” This only serves to further undermine the slanted contentions of the letter-writer, in our view.

We are also accused of apparently being involved in the decisions regarding the industry. Again, this is furthest from the truth, as our union was not an active participant regarding any decision concerning the outlook of the industry. While our union expressed support for certain decisions, it has also expressed, publicly, its disagreement, as when the Diamond cultivation was closed. Our opinions on these matters followed deliberations of our union and took account of the facts that were at hand at the time.

We noticed Mr Joseph pointing an accusatory finger at the former President and now Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo. It appears however, that the author is barking upon the wrong tree and may wish to direct his concerns appropriately.

We recognise too that Mr Joseph appears to insinuate that our membership comes from a certain political direction. A similar point we are aware was included in the still-unreleased White Paper on the sugar industry, which the GAWU managed to obtain a copy of. Whether this is a mere coincidence, we are not certain, but it seems that the author has ignored, whether conveniently or otherwise, that our union is a mass-based organisation having in its fold members supportive, possibly, of all political organisations. This is a fact we accept and one that we respect as well.

Clearly, it appears to us that Mr Joseph has not been really considering what we have been saying and appears he has adopted a ‘blinkered’ approach. While we are saddened about that apparent reality, the fact remains that the author has tried unconvincingly, in our view, to make his fiction a reality. Our union is not daunted by those of the ilk of the author and will nonetheless continue to uphold its long-standing practices and principles which seek to put its members and workers’ interests foremost.

Regards
Seepaul Narine
General-Secretary
GAWU