…says govt honouring their memory by keeping sugar industry afloat

JUNIOR Minister of Social Protection with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott, in honouring the lives of the five slain Enmore Martyrs, stated that the government is working to restructure the sugar estates so that the efforts of the national heroes do not go in vain.
This was a part of his message to representatives of the martyrs, trade unionists and members of the diplomatic corps who gathered at the Le Repentir Cemetery on Sunday to honour the five martyrs.

On June 16, 1948, sugar workers Lallabajee, Pooran, Harry, Surujbally and Rambarran died while on strike against the grueling working conditions of the “cut and load” system and for better pay.

Of the workers who formed the strike, five were killed when the Colonial police opened fire on them. Prior to a wreath laying ceremony at the gravesite of the martyrs, members of the Kuru Kuru Training Centre and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Band participated in a procession from the Square of the Revolution to the site.

There, the representatives, led by Minister Scott, laid floral wreaths on the tombs of the national heroes. In his subsequent address, Scott urged Guyanese not to mourn the death of the five sugar workers but to celebrate their lives as they made the ultimate sacrifice for a better Guyana.

“Many times we take things for granted because we are unaware of our past but today I take this opportunity to remind ourselves that the quality of life which we currently enjoy is due largely to the sacrifices made by sugar workers in general and Enmore Martyrs in particular. It is for that reason and more that we should celebrate their lives,” he said.

Telling of the workers’ struggle to replace the backbreaking “cut and load” system with the “cut and drop” system, Scott stated that the resistance eventually led to better working conditions and the ability for workers to choose a trade union of their preference.
He also highlighted that the 1948 strike was successful too because it cemented further the culture of struggle previously pioneered by father of the Trade Union movement in Guyana, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow.

These efforts, together, led to improvements and the areas of occupation health and safety, gender equality, fair wage structure and more.

Will not be in vain
In Guyana’s present society, Minister Scott said that the government will not allow the efforts of the slain sugar workers to go in vain as the sugar industry, though facing several challenges, is being restructured to remain relevant to changing international markets.
He stated: “The decisions which the current government has taken are designed to ensure that the sacrifice made by the five heroes does not go to waste and that it was not done in vain. We have been unjustly criticized for the restructuring measures which we have put in place to ensure that sugar does not fail. If you are a leader, if you’re leading a country, you’re leading a people, you must recognise when the time has come that you are putting money down a bottomless pit that you have to say there’s a line of demarcation…come up with creative ideas that will then re-structure and bring back your industry.”

Notwithstanding the emerging oil and gas sector, he added that President David Granger’s recent visit to the Albion/Port Mourant Estate is demonstrative of the government’s recommitment to sugar.

Also delivering remarks was General President of the Clerical and Commercial Workers (CCW) Union and Vice President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), Sherwood Clarke who hailed the sacrifices of the five martyrs as “fearless”.
“In one of the greatest lessons of history we learn to avoid the mistakes of the past. Perhaps the Enmore incident of 1948 could have been avoided had the Colonial Administration acknowledged the value of critical support which is often misinterpreted as a reactionary maneuver when it is nothing more than an attempt to foster the good life,” he said.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) stated that while it is necessary to remember the past on Enmore Martyrs Day, Guyanese must also ensure that no such injustice reoccurs.

Following the ceremony, the song the ‘Internationale’ was sung followed by the singing of the national anthem to the tune of the GPF Band.

Wreaths were laid by Scott; representatives of the Martyrs coming from the Kuru Kuru Training Centre and representatives from trade unions in Guyana such as the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU): Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG).