Dear Editor,
In light of developments in the sugar industry, this year’s 74th anniversary of the Enmore Martyrs is likely to be overshadowed by a more somber and reflective mood among those who still cling romantically to the days when sugar was king, hoping that that era will somehow return and not dim before their very eyes. June 16th, is the date identified as Enmore Martyrs Day. Its observance is usually done by recalling the difficult conditions under which sugar workers toiled and sacrificed at that time. Above all, we pay homage to the five who were shot and killed and the two others who were injured as a result of the colonial polices’ actions at the Enmore Estate on the East Coast of Demerara.
For decades agriculture, with sugar, as the major sub-sector, was the backbone of Guyana’s economy. Concomitantly, no other contingent of the Guyanese working class, save the heirs of the Enmore Martyrs have faced uncalled for attacks, wrongful accusations, victimization and intimidation by the ruling elites in colonial and post-colonial times. True to their commitment to continue the struggle for better wages and working conditions initiated by their predecessors in June 1948, Guyanese sugar workers emerged as the most politically conscious and militant branch of the Guyanese working class. Suffice it to say, bauxite workers, waterfront workers and clerical and commercial workers all had their taste of oppression and suppression by the ruling elite during the period of the 1970’s and 1980’s. That occurred at a time when real and genuine episodes of working class unity in Guyana emerged posing a serious threat to the rule of the Burnham dictatorship.
The sugar industry now appears to be on the cusp of a redefining period that demands ‘sweeping changes’ if it is to survive. In every election manifesto, the PPP/C expressed consistent support for the sugar industry to ‘ensure its viability;’ that it ‘remains an important mainstay of the economy’, that it will ‘expand and modernize the industry to make it globally competitive’ and that it will ‘improve the welfare of the workers and the social infrastructure on the estates.’ But the promises made have been debilitated by a combination of global and domestic realities. Developments in the sugar industry over the past year or so, including the most recent at Uitvlugt, poor production and the slow pace in reopening shuttered estates have caused many to express concern over what they see as a redefined industry that will impact the welfare of sugar workers and their of families across the entire sugar belt.
Concerns have been expressed over redefining the future of the industry as exemplified by a narrative hinting at ‘impending changes’ in the industry; that workers should ‘seek alternative avenues of employment’ with a view to ‘transitioning to get higher paying jobs in other sectors.’ This must be concerning for sugar workers. The ‘golden handshakes’ of $250K to sugar workers as part compensation for earnings lost and also to establish income generating activities; offers of training opportunities; assurances of part-time jobs; offers of a ten-day $40K per month jobs; and an open invitation to join in the GOAL scholarship programme must have been welcomed by sugar workers who had earlier received the COVID 19 $25K cash grant and wage increases in 2020 and 2021. To the worker’s concern over the call for them to ‘transition’ to other jobs and hints at redefining the industry’s future, was the sale of fifty-five acres of ‘sugar land.’ We were told that the packaging plant at Enmore is to be relocated and reassembled at Region Six.
However, these untoward developments notwithstanding, a sliver of hope, real or imagined, persists in the minds of workers that the industry will be back on its feet sooner than later, and that the dye will not be cast to put the future of the industry in jeopardy. The came on the eve of Enmore Martyrs’ Day when President Ali, at a meeting with the leadership of GuySuCo read the riot act declaring; “It cannot be business as usual anymore, there must be sweeping changes”. Adopting a no-holes-barred position, the President continued; “We are not investing all of these resources in GuySuCo for failure. The restructuring and strengthening of GuySuCo is not a joke. When we said we want to make this industry viable, it is not a mystery.” The problems plaguing Guysuco aside, there is hardly any doubt in anyone’s mind that the oil and gas sector is strategically poised to replace the sugar industry as the major contributor to Guyana’s GDP growth rate. It is in that context that the question being asked is; which branch, if any, of the Guyanese working people will replace the sugar workers as the most militant and politically conscious? The answer is probably too futuristic. Let us pray that the legacy left to the Guyanese working people by the Enmore Martyrs does not fade away.
Sincerely,
Clement J. Rohee
