(Part 11)
My previous article (Part 1) on the topic clearly pointed to an explosive situation brewing at Plantation Leonora by Mid-February, 1939.
Industrial action at Leonora escalated on Wednesday, 15 February when almost the entire field work force joined in the strike and took part in picketing exercises on both the ‘sideline’ and ‘middle walk’ dams. While factory workers reported for normal duty the factory in reality was brought to a standstill as canes were not readily available for processing.
The Leonora field workers then embarked on a plan to board the 7:40 am train with their tools of trade and without tickets for Vreed-en-Hoop, the eastern terminus of the West Coast of Demerara, railway and the point of embarkation of the Vreed-en-Hoop/George-town ferry. They were however dissuaded from this aggressive response by a police detachment under Superintendent Webber.
The strikers subsequently proceeded on foot along the railway embankment and on arrival at Vreed-en-Hoop they were addressed my Mr. C.R. Jacobs who promised them that the union, the Man Power Citizens Association (MPCA) would seek redress for their grievances which included wage rates, hours of work and the method of loading punts. This union official also advised the striking labourers to return to their homes. The protesters, however, were not satisfied with the union’s response. Instead, they wanted an immediate settlement of their concerns.
C.R. Jacobs, for his part left for Georgetown to attend the afternoon’s sitting of the West Indian Royal Commission and it seems as if his visit to Vreed-en-Hoop was largely ineffective. By about 1:30 pm that very afternoon the gathering of striking workers was joined by another contingent which was conspicuous by its dominance of females. While some were obviously wives of sugar workers it is reasonable to conclude that a significant party were sugar workers themselves as women then formed over 30 percent of field labour and were very pronounced in the weeding gangs.
The growing crowd became more restive and renewed their efforts to cross to Georgetown but was prevented from boarding the streamer, “MV Pomeroon” by a party of policemen. While the protesters chanted vociferously they were by no means violent. This fact was highlighted by Mr. Jacob before the Royal Commission when he said, “They were discontented but quite peaceful.”
By 4 pm the situation at the Vreed-en-Hoop ferry terminal was becoming chaotic. Twice the ferry had to make premature departures and police reinforcements from the city of Georgetown and elsewhere did little to quell the protesters. Instead they intensified their efforts to board the ferry but police foiled their actions.
With nightfall approaching some of the strikers then began to board the West Demerara train without tickets after realizing the difficulty to get to the capital. This act of boarding the train without tickets was certainly an act of civil disobedience and such a defiant spirit must have convinced the police, rail and district authorities to accede to the strikers’ demand for free transportation home. Additional carriages were attached and following instructions from the Commissioner of Labour and Local Government, Mr. Laing, the train with the striking workers eventually departed for Leonora. Certainly, some of the strikers, if not all, must have viewed this development as a sort of moral victory.
The unrest at Leonora, however, worsened on the morning of Thursday, February 16, 1939. Very early on that day a party of striking workers entered the sugar factory and urged factory workers to support the strike. It would appear that the strike call was heeded as most of the factory workers, including the factory’s firemen who had earlier in the week protested, joined in the wider struggle.
With tension running high a detachment of policemen, armed with rifles and batons and commanded by the District Superintendent of Police, arrived on the scene. The police presence seemed to have heightened the animosity of the striking workers. Some of them stoned the police bus and they even resisted arrest.
Meanwhile some strikers congregated near the Administrative Manager’s house and again demanded higher pay and requested the presence of Union Leaders, Edun and Jacob. Lywood attempted to address the gathering, but was quickly greeted by flying debris. The explosive situation was now at hand.
Incidents of sporadic violence increased as the day progressed and the striking workers at Plantation Leonora once again demanded the presence of union officials. This demand, however, was not taken seriously because of the estate administration’s refusal to allow the MPCA officials to enter the estate compound in the absence of a union recognition agreement.
The strikers subsequently moved towards the factory. In the meantime, the District Superintendent of Police instructed his men to prevent the entry of strikers into the factory at all costs. The workers continued to advance, while throwing missiles at the police. Constable Bijadder was pursued by a small party of labourers and three policemen went to his result. Blows were exchanged between striking workers and policemen and injuries were sustained by both groups.
As the strikers become more and more threatening, orders were made to open fire on the ringleaders. The police obeyed and four strikers, including a woman, were shot and killed, while four others were seriously injured. The end result was that the crowd quickly dispersed, as people ran helter-skelter and the strikers were subdued.
By the next day, the strike was over and work eventually resumed at plantation Leonora.
In relation to the Leonora incident, the Daily Agrosy of Friday, February 17, had as its headline, `Bloodshed at Leonora’. Police compelled to fire on mob’. Governor Wilfred Jackson promptly appointed a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the circumstances relating to the Leonora disturbances of 1939.
The Commission of Inquiry comprised Chairman Justice Verity, First Puisne Judge: Mr. J. A. Luckhoo and Mr. Arthur Hill, retired Immigration Agency General. According to Chairman Justice Verity, the Commission of Inquiry “should be conducted thoroughly but with expedition and we rely on every person concerned to support us in our determination to do so.”
After twelve days of intense hearing, involving the Police Department, the Demerara Company Limited, the relatives of the deceased through the British Guiana East Indian Association, and a total of 69 witnesses, the Commission laid blame on the Sugar Producers Association (SPA) for its failure to grant recognition to the union, MPCA. At the same time, it did not think the existing conditions at plantation Leonora justified the level of discontent shown by the workers.
The Leonora Strike of 1939 in the end undoubtedly helped to hasten the recognition issue surrounding the MPCA, even though sugar workers were to be disenchanted with this very move in a few years’ time. This was evidenced in the late 1940s when they broke away in favour of the Guiana Industrial Workers Union (GIWU), the forerunner of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), with its more radical and militant leadership.
The protest action was also significant from the point of view that it witnessed prominent roles by women and the unified action of Guyanese field and factory workers, especially in the latter stages of the strike.
The 1939 protest at Plantation Leonora was indeed part of a wider and ongoing working class struggle in this crucial pre-independence period of Guyana’s history.
Taken from Walter Rodney, Guyanese Sugar Plantations
