JUNE 16 marks the 74th Anniversary since the shooting to death of five sugar workers by colonial police. These five sugar workers — Rambarran, Pooran, Lallabagee, Surajballi and Harry — are now immortalised as the Enmore Martyrs, and a national monument, has been erected in their honour at Enmore, where they were murdered. In some important respects, the death of the sugar workers turned out to be a defining moment in the political and industrial landscape of the country.

The death of the five sugar workers and the injuries sustained by several others did not go in vain. For one thing, it served as a catalyst for the formation of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which came into being on January 1, 1950, a mere two years after the sugar workers were killed. In 1947, Dr. Cheddi Jagan had won a seat in the Legislative Council as an independent, but he recognised the need for a political party to advance the workers’ struggle.

Indeed, it was at the gravesite of the slain sugar workers that Dr. Cheddi Jagan made a silent pledge that he would dedicate his entire life to the cause of the working people of Guyana. Dr. Jagan and his wife Janet, along with Ashton Chase and HJM Hubbard were founding members of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), which was formed in 1946. The PAC can be considered as the forerunner of the PPP, and played a key role in raising the political and ideological awareness of the then British Guianese people. The PAC was also instrumental in mobilising resources for the striking sugar workers, who were demanding better working and living conditions, and recognition of the Guyana Industrial Workers Union (now GAWU) as their recognised union.

The response by the colonial police against the sugar workers was nothing short of brutal, bloody and cowardly. Unlike European countries, where non-lethal methods were used to disperse protesters, the police here used live rounds of ammunition against the protesting workers, who were, in the main, peaceful and non-violent, and as such, posed no security threat to them or the management of the Enmore Estate. Because of widespread condemnation of the shootings, a Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the then Governor, Sir Charles Wooley.

The Commission, as expected, justified the shooting, but criticised the colonial police for their excessive use of force, and not applying measures such as the use of teargas to manage the crowd. The Commission found, also, that the shooting went beyond what was reasonable.

“We are, therefore, of the opinion that the evidence has established that after the first few shots, there was firing, which went beyond the requirements of the situation, with the result that Pooran, notably, and some others received shots when in actual flight.”

A lot of water, as it were, has flowed under the bridge since that fateful day. The formation of the PPP in 1950 had advanced the worker’s struggle to a higher political level, and the workers’ union, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union had since been recognised, but not before a strong and sustained struggle, waged by the PPP and GAWU against the then People’s National Congress (PNC) dictatorial regime. Under the PNC, the sugar industry was literally drained of its profits by way of an unconscionable high levy. The industry suffered from decades of mismanagement and incompetence, which resulted in low and declining levels of production and productivity. And, to further compound the situation, the previous APNU+AFC administration closed down a number of grinding sugar estates, including the Enmore estate.

Today, 74 years later, the industry is still fighting for its very survival, despite significant injections of money and capital by the PPP/C administration to restore the industry to economic viability. Only recently, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, at a meeting with senior management staff of the Sugar Corporation had cause to, as it were, read the riot act, and make it clear to executives that “it cannot be business as usual” insofar as efficiency and productivity of the industry is concerned.

For his part, President Ali has given a firm commitment to ensuring the survival of the industry, which, he said, goes way beyond financial viability. According to the President, we have to look at the economic and social impact of the industry on workers and their communities.

The industry, undoubtedly, is experiencing a number of daunting challenges, both at the international and domestic levels. The withdrawal of subsides on sugar by the European Union, and less than favourable prices on the world market for sugar have placed the industry in a less than favourable position, but, with new and innovative management strategies, product diversification and valued-added initiatives, it is possible to restore the industry to profitability, and economic and social viability.