GAWU Combat - July/August 2012

Issue#:4 Volume#: 33

Combat Voice of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU)

GAWU awards bursaries

Guysuco 2nd crop under harvest The second crop of the sugar industry is taking place within six (6) of the seven (7) grinding estates. There is an unexpectedly long delay in the completion of repair works to one (1) of the three (3) boilers of the factory at Wales Estate, which is now expected to commence its second crop on week ending 15th September, 2012.

The industry has set itself to produce 165,163 tonnes as follows:-

Bursary Award recipents and their parents along with Union Officials following the presentation ceremony in Georgetown

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) presented bursary awards to children of GAWU members. Over the past years, the union has been awarding the best performing children of GAWU’s members in the National Grade Six Examinations.

Two separate ceremonies were held at the union’s offices in New Amsterdam, Berbice and in Georgetown, on August 22 and August 23, 2012 respectively, whereby the monetary awards to the successful students were handed out in the presence of their parents.

In his message to the students at the Demerara ceremony in Georgetown, the President of GAWU, Comrade Komal Chand, congratulated the students and their parents, and encouraged the students to continue studying hard, especially since the knowledge of Information Technology is important in the job market today. He encouraged them to strive for greater successes as they enter secondary schools in the new school term in September. He also told the students that GAWU is proud to award the bursaries, for it is indeed an encouragement for students to continue their studies and to recognize their success at the National Grade Six examinations. He also congratulated the parents and urged them to continue their support role to their children’s education. Comrade Seepaul Narine, General Secretary of GAWU, who spoke at the Berbice Awards Ceremony also expressed similar sentiments.

Altogether, twenty-four (24) students received twenty-seven (27) bursaries, of which three (3) were awarded by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union Co-operative Credit Union Society Limited.

COMBAT: July/August, 2012

July/August, 2012

Skeldon Albion Rose Hall Blairmont Enmore Wales Uitvlugt

- - - - - - -

27,858 tonnes 39,325 tonnes 25,096 tonnes 23,651 tonnes 21,330 tonnes 15,081 tonnes 12,913 tonnes

The expected production from the estates, when added to the first crop production of 71,146 tonnes, will account for the year’s revised target of 236,309 tonnes of sugar.

As at the end of August, 2012, the crop’s production was 32,909 tonnes sugar, 132,254 tonnes away from the target. Unusual rainfall during the first three (3) weeks in August, 2012 impeded the reaping exercise of the crop. However, forecasted dry weather for the remaining months of the year would ensure that the industry’s canes for the crop would be fully reaped.

The good weather will also facilitate the industry to undertake its tillage and other field works which have been restricted owing to inclement weather. It is expected that the Corporation will mobilise its machines and organize its workforce to make maximum use of the opportune weather in the ensuing months.

The world market price for sugar remains favourable to sugar producers. Taking into account that farmers produced 10 per cent of the country’s cane production last year; with a like production this year, and the Corporation, once it has the requisite quantity of canes across the industry, the proposed year’s target could be achieved.

In the meantime, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) are engaged in negotiations towards improving workers’ wages and salaries and certain fringe benefits. The parties held eight (8) meetings as at the end of August, 2012. Through the discussions, the Union was able to secure improvement in the issuance of the following personal protective equipment (PPE):- an additional pair of long

boots for chargehands of the mill dock, an additional water bag for “cut and join” men, the provision of long boots and gloves for rodent control workers, one (1) additional file per year for weeders, “drawdown hands” and planters to be provided cutlasses and files after ten (10) weeks of active harvesting, and a sewing allowance of G$1,200 per year for charwomen. The new benefits are being implemented by the management of the various estates.

During the last two (2) meetings, discussions have been engaged on the wage/salary hike for 2012. The Union is seeking a 10 per cent across-the-board increase. The Corporation, at the last meeting, held on August 16, 2012, offered an 2.5 per cent hike. The Union advised the Corporation that its offer is far from realistic.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (Guysuco) wants the wage/salary increase to benefit its approximately 12,000 piece-rated employees because its 6,200 timerated employees recently benefited from higher pay rates, equivalent to an average of a 35 per cent increase, out of the recently-concluded job evaluation exercise. In the ensuing weeks the negotiations would reach its crucial moments. It is expected that the negotiating parties will be able to reach a negotiated settlement to avoid any industrial unrest, especially at this time in the industry.

Guysuco continues to contend, like in previous years, that it is hamstrung by its poor financial capability. It is understood that the unaudited financial statements of the Corporation for 2011 indicated that it realized a loss of G$10B (US$50M). Additionally, Guysuco is said to be indebted to the tune of G$6.4B to its Creditors and Bankers as at the end of May, 2012 The Corporation having revised its production target from 266,976 tonnes to 236,309 tonnes, it will realize a deficit which could be as much as G$9.7B, notwithstanding the Government’s injection of G$4B (US$20M) into Guysuco’s coffers last April.

The bottom line of the Corporation’s distress lies with its poor sugar production. It has the capacity to produce greater volumes of sugar than its yearly production, especially over the last five (5) years, when the industry’s average production was merely at 236,760 tonnes. In the period 2002 to 2004, its average production was 319,587 tonnes. In the immediate shortterm, the Corporation ought to produce not less than 300,000 tonnes, and thereafter ascend to 420,000 tonnes, as set out in its Strategic Plan, if it is to depend on its own revenue to function.

Page One

GAWU/Berbice Bridge mulling two-year agreement

DDL employees received wage/salary increase

- multi-year agreement inked

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Management of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) have commenced negotiations on August 08, 2012 with respect to the Union’s claims for 2012. GAWU, by letter dated May 11, 2012, proposed for the Company to increase employees’ pay by fifteen (15) per cent and to introduce the payment of night premium and increase two (2) pairs of safety boots and two (2) sets of overalls per year. The Union also seeks to have higher meal allowance, night premium, safety boots and overalls on a yearly issue.

The Company, at the meeting on August 15, sought to have the Union approve a two-year agreement for years 2012 and 2013, allowing a

5.5 per cent increase each year. The Company also agreed to the implementation of a night shift premium.

The parties further agreed to have meal allowance improved by the same percentage of the pay rise.

The parties hope to conclude the negotiations in the month of September, 2012. At the next meeting, after the Union’s Branch Committee of BBCI considers the Company’s twoyear pay adjustments, the Union will respond.

The Company’s delegation is led by its Chief Executive Officer, Cde Omadatt Samaroo, and includes the Company’s consultant, former Chief Labour Officer Cde Mohamed Akeel.

The Union’s team, which includes shop stewards, is led by the Union’s General Secretary.

GAWU/Noble House negotiations underway The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the management of Noble House Seafoods Limited (NHSL), on August 17, 2012 commenced negotiations on pay increases and higher fringe benefits for the Union’s members for the financial year commencing April 01, 2012.

The Union submitted its claims to the employer by letter dated May 14, 2012 to have a pay increase of 15 per cent, increases in meals allowance, leave allowance, bursary award, and special allowances for working on Sundays and holidays. The Union is also seeking for its members a transportation allowance and the implementation of a contributory pension scheme.

The meeting of August 17, 2012 was cordial. At the meeting, the Management took into account the Union’s request to COMBAT: July/August, 2012

provide a loan to workers whose children have to begin their new school year in early September, 2012. The Company agreed to assist the employees, noting the imminent Closed Season, a period of about six (6) weeks, when shrimping in Guyana is illegal and therefore gainful employment within the Company will be restricted.

The Company has countered the Union’s claim with an offer of 2 per cent pay rise.

The members of the Union’s negotiating team noted that they have considered the 2 per cent as an initial offer.

Noble House Seafoods Limited, which is owned by Glide Group of Holland, is managed by a Guyanese General Manager, Leslie Ramalo, who heads the Company’s negotiation team. The Union’s team is led by its General Secretary, Seepaul Narine, and includes the shop stewards.

From the left, GLU General Secretary Carvil Duncan; CCWU Field Secretary Sherwood Clarke; GAWU General Secretary Seepaul Narine; Chief Labour Officer (ag) Charles Ogle, and DDL Human Resources Director Moneeta Singh-Bird appending the agreement

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) and the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) on August 03, 2012, signed a five (5) year Agreement on pay increases and improvements to certain fringe benefits with the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL).

The Agreement, for years 2010 to 2014, both years inclusive, was negotiated in 2010. The appending signatures by the Unions and the Company were delayed because the latter was reconsidering the escalator clause of the Agreement, which outlines additional increases should the inflation rate rise above 4 per cent in any year of the duration of the Agreement. In the meantime, the Company had implemented the Agreement for years 2010 and 2011. The application of the escalator clause was not required, since the inflation rate was below 4 per cent with respect to each year.

The multi-year Agreement allows unionized employees to receive between 5 and 7 per cent wage/salary increases.

No employee will receive less than 5 per cent. Based on his/her performance, up to 2 additional per cent in pay rise is possible. There are a few piece-rated employees whose annual wage increase is 6 per cent. The benefits which attracted increased allowances are meal allow-

ance, assistance for sewing uniforms, cycle allowance, third-shift premium and leave passage assistance.

In event of an employee being disciplined after he/she was previously warned, his/her enjoyment of the minimum 5 per cent increase is not assured.

Piece-rated jobs will also attract an annual increase of 6 per cent.

The escalator clause allows for every percentage rise in inflation above 4 per cent, in any year, an automatic increase in pay for that year up to a maximum of 11 per cent. However, should the inflation rate exceed 10 per cent in any year, the three unions and the Management will decide on an appropriate increase vis-à-vis the high inflation rate.

Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) is the only employer in Guyana which has promoted joint negotiations with the Unions representing its employees. The 2010-2014 agreement is the second successive joint Agreement negotiated.

Both the Unions and the Company have found the joint negotiating exercise advantageous. The exercise is less time consuming for the employer vis-à-vis three (3) separate negotiations with each union. The three (3) unions at the end of the negotiations do receive similar pay rise and adjustment for their members.

Since no Union outshines the others, the persuasion of one’s membership to join the other is restricted.

“Capitalist Barbarism, Crisis and Imperialist Wars or Socialism” Page Two

Investing in Workers’ Welfare, Uniting the Nation

- GAWU President’s May Day Address 2012

CONTINUED FROM LAST EDITION Comrades, since we met in May last year, momentous events have taken place in our country. One of the most significant, no doubt, is the holding of the national and regional elections. GAWU is pleased to note that violence, as in several elections before, did not mar this election. What is somewhat disappointing, however, is the representation of the working people, the bulk of our electorate, in Parliament. A reasonable contingent of them could very well bring to bear the real life experiences, hopes and concerns of the working man and woman to the discussions in that August body, especially now-a-days.

With respect to labour, GAWU can proudly say that it gave genuine representation to its membership. Workers took militant action when they had to, and several gains in increased wages and benefits and working conditions were made. Of major significance is the agreement reached between GAWU and Guysuco on the question of the Job Evaluation exercise which was conducted last year and is now being implemented.

The sugar industry’s state of health and performance are naturally of great interest to us. We note that resources at the disposal of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) are not matching with the yearly production, especially for the past six (6) years. Guysuco’s land assets spanning its seven (7) grinding estates need to produce sugar as in the days when the industry’s production was 350,000 tonnes, 364,000 tonnes, 372,000 tonnes. Cane-growing knowledge is there. It is primarily left to those who manage the industry to make the critical assessments and come up with the proper decisions to make this industry viable and successfully. In this, GAWU is always ready to play its responsible role in the defense of the workers’ everyday and larger interests.

GAWU welcomes the Government’s continuing support to the industry as it seeks to overcome its several challenges. It is apt that I quote the Minister of Finance in his recent Budget Speech. He said: “I now wish to announce that Budget 2012 provides for a transfer of $4 billion from the Central Government to GUYSUCO, in order to ensure that the sugar industry is financially able to meet its operating and investment requirements. The production and financial turnaround, which is expected to be aided with this support from Government and other initiatives taken by the industry, will ultimately redound to the benefit of the industry’s 18,000 workers and their families, along with the industry’s suppliers of goods and services, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 120,000 persons.”

This four-(4)-billion-dollar support from Government is critical to the industry. It is hoped that crucial capital works, so badly required in certain areas, would be soon undertaken, and a value-for-money audit be conducted soon afterwards to satisfy any concerns about the expenditure of the much-needed sum.

With the fixing of the major defects at the Skeldon factory before the commencement of the second crop in late July, as we were recently assured by Guysuco, 2012 can really be the turnaround year for the sugar industry. Indeed, it can be so if a quantity of sugar of not less than 300,000 tonnes can be produced by the end of 2013, in keeping with the industry’s present resources and with the current price of sugar in the overseas markets an end to the industry’s yearly large deficits is on the horizon.

Whilst pleased with the substantial interest shown by the Government in the sugar industry on one hand, the GAWU was and is peeved by another intervention which sought to divide our workers’ ranks and undermine Trade Unionism, specifically GAWU. Here, attention is drawn to the attempts by leaders and activists COMBAT: July/August, 2012

of the AFC to seize on the genuine grievances of some sections of our workforce, no doubt to promote their political ends. We have fended them off so far, but our members must be aware and alert for wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing. And as the FITUG Solidarity Statement with GAWU pointed out, the AFC has revealed an anti-working class and anti-Trade Union tendency, and mischief is afoot.

Apart from sugar, the preceding year brought other matters to the national table. They are important enough to engage our attention and assessment especially as these will impact our lives and the lives of future generations. Here, reference is made to the several investments in the mining sector, and possibly land acquisitions. These investments in our resources are linked to development questions, and we need to ensure the best returns and benefits come to our country and people, with an eye on future generations. Those in authority, we are sure, will find it a useful exercise to start up conversations with our people on these important and crucial matters.

Comrades, as we meet on this May Day, you would know that consideration of the 2012 Budget concluded in Parliament a few days ago. But the debate is continuing outside – in the streets, in our communities and villages. One person remarked to me that what we saw those past days was Parliamentary theatrics; but if it were, then the show on display was certainly a tragedy.

It brought tears to the eyes and will snuff out the hopes and dreams of many.

In one fell swoop, over twenty (20) billion dollars from the proposed 2012 budget was guillotined by the combined Parliamentary Opposition. A range of issues encompassing workers’ jobs, development programmes, continuing our modernization thrust, programmes to benefit the Amerindian communities, the fight against illicit drugs, governance, investment possibilities and much more have been obliterated or are now seriously threatened.

Why, we ask, would a few politicians, without understandable rhyme or reason, seek to obstruct our country’s development, especially given its low current level and at a time when it is making strides, even if small, towards progress?

Hundreds of our fellow workers stand to lose their jobs, we are told. Secure in their jobs days ago, today these workers are destined to join the breadline and an uncertain future. And, the important thing to note is not that money is not available to pay them wages and salaries, it is simply that some politicians, themselves not workers, seem to find a special gratification in ensuring that hundreds are thrown to the unemployed ranks and they and their families exposed to the prospect of a hand-to-mouth existence.

Given our recent experiences with the AFC in the sugar industry, its continuing anti-working class stance comes as no surprise to us. But the APNU’s stand confounds us, bearing in mind that, unthinkingly, it many have sent many of its supporters’ jobs to the chopping block while preventing programmes that will open up other employment opportunities.

Comrades, May Day 2012 has come with a mixture of good and bad news. The air is filled with loose talk, but one thing is certain: the working peoples’ struggles in defence of their interests must go on, and we must not allow our unity to be broken. Our class feelings and solidarity compel us to condemn forcefully those who are snatching food from the mouths of our fellow workers and destroying their livelihood, whatever category they belong to. At the same time, whatever other criticisms one may have, we must acknowledge and recognise the present government’s passionate defence of these sectors of the working class who may now be affected,

and the development programmes they have initiated.

The recent developments in our nation are telling.

They tell us that new challenges are appearing in our path. We must be ready to face up to them. At this time, we see the need for our working people to stand unitedly. Wild bulls are unleashed in the china shop.

And as we increase our vigilance, let us be aware of the confidence tricksters or fraudsters who are only interested in your political value to fulfill their political agenda and ambitions.

On this May Day, GAWU sends out militant greetings to all workers and working people of Guyana and their genuine representatives. We express our solidarity to our own working people and the working and oppressed peoples the world over in their struggles for bread, justice, peace, democracy and progress.

Sugar Workers injured in lorry accidents

The workers were being transported in lorries similar to the one pictured

Two (2) separate accidents at two (2) estates occurred on August 22, 2012, resulting in injuries to twenty-eight (28) sugar workers.

The workers were utilizing lorry transportation to reach their workplaces in the backdam of their estates, namely Skeldon and Albion. There were workers who travelled on other lorries to reach their various work sites as well.

At Skeldon, the lorry which got into the accident was travelling with only sixteen (16) workers. Fourteen (14) were injured as the lorry was traversing a slippery earthen road, especially at some points owing to rainfall in the previous hours. The slippery condition of the road caused the lorry’s rear wheels to lose their grip and slide along a sloped section of the road, resulting in the lorry tilting. Thirteen (13) of the injured were treated at the Estate’s Dispensary, while one (1) was hospitalized at the Public Hospital in New Amsterdam, Berbice for one (1) week.

At Albion, the lorry was ferrying forty-one (41) workers. Similar rainfall effect like Skeldon caused the lorry to be tilted at one point of the journey, whereby some of the passengers were catapulted outside of their lorry. A like number of workers were also injured, thirteen (13) of whom received treatment and one (1) was hospitalized for two (2) days.

Transportation of workers to the cane fields is done by lorry and passenger punts (metal barges). When the roads are not suitable owing to rainfall, workers would use punt transportation, which is slower. It is up to the Management which mode of transportation is to be used daily.

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Hiroshima’s Peace Declaration

mately a billion people. Next August, we will hold a Mayors for Peace general conference in Hiroshima.

That event will convey to the world the intense desire of the overwhelming majority of our citizens for a nuclear weapons convention and elimination of nuclear weapons. The following spring, Hiroshima will host a ministerial meeting of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative, comprising ten non-nuclear-weapon states, including Japan. I firmly believe that the demand for freedom from nuclear weapons will soon spread out from Hiroshima, encircle the globe, and lead us to genuine world peace.

March 11, 2011 is a day we will never forget. A natural disaster compounded by a nuclear power accident created an unprecedented catastrophe.

Here in Hiroshima, we are keenly aware that the survivors of that catastrophe still suffer terribly, yet look toward the future with hope. We see their ordeal clearly superimposed on what we endured 67 years ago. I speak now to all in the stricken areas.

Please hold fast to your hope for tomorrow. Your day will arrive, absolutely. Our hearts are with you.

Having learned a lesson from that horrific acciDestruction caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 06, 1945 dent, Japan is now engaged in a national debate Our hometown was reduced to ashes by a sin- old brother and my 11-year-old sister. The only over its energy policy, with some voices insisting, gle atomic bomb. The houses we came home to, ones left were myself and my little brother, who “Nuclear energy and humankind cannot coexist.” I our everyday lives, the customs we cherished--all was three, and he died later of cancer.” From new- call on the Japanese government to establish withwere gone: “Hiroshima was no more. The city had borns to grandmothers, by the end of the year, out delay an energy policy that guards the safety vanished. No roads, just a burnt plain of rubble as 140,000 precious lives were taken from Hiroshima. and security of the people. I ask the government far as I could see, and sadly, I could see too far. I of the only country to experience an atomic bombfollowed electric lines that had fallen along what Hiroshima was plunged into deepest darkness. ing to accept as its own the resolve of Hiroshima I took to be tram rails. The tram street was hot. Our hibakusha experienced the bombing in flesh and Nagasaki. Mindful of the unstable situation Death was all around.” That was our city, as seen and blood. Then they had to live with aftereffects surrounding us in Northeast Asia, please display by a young woman of twenty. That was Hiroshima and social prejudice. Even so, they soon began tell- bolder leadership in the movement to eliminate for all the survivors. The exciting festivals, the play- ing the world about their experience. Transcending nuclear weapons. Please also provide more caring ing in boats, the fishing and clamming, the children rage and hatred, they revealed the utter inhuman- measures for the hibakusha in and out of Japan catching long-armed shrimp a way of life had dis- ity of nuclear weapons, and worked tirelessly to who still suffer even today, and take the political appeared from our beloved rivers. abolish those weapons. We want the whole world decision to expand the “black rain areas.” to know of their hardship, their grief, their pain, Worse yet, the bomb snuffed out the sacred lives and their selfless desire.

Once again, we offer our heartfelt prayers for the of so many human beings: “I rode in a truck with peaceful repose of the atomic bomb victims. From a civil defense team to pick up corpses. I was just The average hibakusha is now over 78. This sum- our base here in Hiroshima, we pledge to convey a boy, so they told me to grab the ankles. I did, mer, in response to the many ordinary citizens to the world the experience and desire of our hibabut the skin slipped right off. I couldn’t hold on. I seeking to inherit and pass on their experience kusha, and do everything in our power to achieve steeled myself, squeezed hard with my fingertips, and desire, Hiroshima has begun carefully training the genuine peace of a world without nuclear and the flesh started oozing. A terrible stench. I official hibakusha successors. Determined never to weapons. gripped right down to the bone. With a ‘one-two- let the atomic bombing fade from memory, we in- Matsui Kazumi three,’ we tossed them into the truck.” As seen in tend to share with ever more people at home and Mayor the experience of this 13-year-old boy, our city had abroad the hibakusha desire for a nuclear-weap- The City of Hiroshima become a living hell. Countless corpses lay every- on-free world. where, piled on top of each other; amid the moans Note: August 06, 2012 marked the sixty-seventh of unearthly voices, infants sucked at the breasts People of the world! Especially leaders of nuclear- anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. of dead mothers, while dazed, empty-eyed moth- armed nations, please come to Hiroshima to con- Some 70,000–80,000 people, or some 30 per cent, ers clutched their dead babies. template peace in this A-bombed city. of the population of Hiroshima, were killed by the A girl of sixteen lost her whole family, one after the other: “My 7-year-old brother was burned from head to toe. He died soon after the bombing.

A month later, my parents died; then my 13-yearCOMBAT: July/August, 2012

This year, Mayors for Peace marked its 30th anniversary. The number of cities calling for the total abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020 has passed 5,300, and our members now represent approxi-

blast and resultant firestorm, and another 70,000 injured. Within the first two to four months of the bombing, the acute effects killed between 90,000 and 166,000.

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Syria at the Mercy of the West’s “Ministers of Terrorism - Foreign Policy by Terrorists and Thugs in High Office

an American platoon, which then butchered her broken body to cover up their crime? Or the families in Iraq’s Fallujah city whose loved ones were incinerated with the Pentagon white phosphorus bombs during 2004-2005? What was that holocaust all about in the pursuit of a supposed war against terrorists, the same terrorists who are now armed, trained, and directed by Washington, London, and Paris to overthrow the legal government of Syria?

Or how about the thousands of unnamed villagers killed in remote areas of Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia in continuing American drone attacks?

Fabius recently told reporters in Turkey, “The Syrian regime must be smashed fast.” He also called for Assad’s death.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague (L) and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

By Finian Cunningham

The latest display of criminality in high office is the call by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius for the “smashing” of Syria and the killing of its president, Bashar al-Assad. The words may have been spoken with an eloquent French accent, but their practical meaning has all the savagery of cold-blooded bludgeoning.

What we are seeing is a descent into barbarism and an open embrace of international lawlessness -- by the same governments that appoint themselves to lecture the rest of the world on the principles of democracy and human rights.

Reports and videos showing that the Western-backed mercenaries of the so-called Free Syrian Army are bolstered by al-Qaeda brigades and other terrorists have been greeted with barely veiled glee in Washington and European capitals.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, have pointedly refused to condemn the surge in bombing atrocities across Syria that have accompanied the influx of terrorists into the country over recent months. Indeed, Washington officials have effectively condoned such barbarities by their studied silence. Rice has even made statements suggesting that more such atrocities will follow until the Syrian president does what her government demands and surrenders office. In mafia terminology, it’s called “making an offer he can’t refuse.”

The “terror” that Washington and other Western governments have promoted as the defining existential threat to democratic civilization over the past 10 years has suddenly and seamlessly morphed into “war with terror” when it comes to Syria. And Western media that are intoxicated with hubris over supposed “free, independent thinking” do not even raise a timid quesCOMBAT: July/August, 2012

tion about this glaring contradiction. Indeed, these organs compound their intellectual bankruptcy with moral bankruptcy by concealing their government’s outrageous duplicity.

However, for those with eyes, when it comes to Syria, the mask of Western pretence at defending international law and human rights has now been ripped off.

The face revealed is a grotesque, salivating monster whose motives are evidently selfish elite power and domination in the strategic Middle East region. And this objective is to be achieved by any means necessary -foremost by the collusion with bloodthirsty killers.

In asserting their geopolitical objective over Syria, the Western governments are openly deploying terrorists and killers who supposedly were the reason why Western governments spent trillions of dollars fighting foreign wars, invading and occupying sovereign countries, destroying millions of innocent lives, incarcerating and torturing thousands, and turning democratic societies into draconian police states.

US President Barack Obama has, time and again, lauded American military veterans for their sacrifices in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 4,500 US forces were killed in Iraq, thousands more maimed and psychologically destroyed, with record numbers committing suicide once back home in Civvy Street. In Afghanistan, the death toll continues to rise -- with a spate of ‘green on blue’ attacks, in which Afghan security personnel turn their guns on American troops.

How must the families in the Iraqi city of Haditha feel where, in 2005, US marines shot dead 25 inhabitants, including women and children? -- Just one of countless other such massacres and war crimes. Why were they killed in the putative “war on terror” that has now become a US “war with terror”? Or how about the family of the 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was gang-raped by

Elsewhere, it is reported that Qatar, the West’s Arab ally in the sabotage of Syria, has resorted to bribery to destabilize the government in Damascus. Apparently, the Al Thani royal rulers of the Persian Gulf emirate offered USD 1 million to the Syrian ambassador in Mauritania to defect, thereby attempting to tarnish Assad’s government. The Syrian Ambassador, targeted by the honey-trap, Hamad Albni, denounced the bribe as “blatant interference” in his country’s affairs.

It was just the latest in a barrage of dirty tricks that Qatar and the royal rulers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have engaged in against Syria, including bribing the nation’s Army ranks to desert, fabricating news stories on Arab media channels Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, and jamming the satellite signals for the Syrian national broadcaster. The latter is a war crime, but don’t expect the Western crime bosses in office to bat an eyelid over that.

This is on top of these billionaire rulers funnelling USD 100 million from their own impoverished, downtrodden countries to pay for American and Israeli weapons and explosives that are being used by the Western terrorist army to kill and maim women and children across Syria.

Meanwhile, Oxbridge-educated British Foreign Secretary William Hague announces with his ever-so-polite plumy accent that “Her Majesty’s” government is to supply an extra USD eight million to Syria. Not to help refugees or victims of Western-orchestrated violence, but to help the terrorists escalate their campaign of tearing that country apart and no doubt creating more refugees.

Clinton, Fabius, Hague and their royal Arab friends may dress in fine clothes, speak with polished accents, and have manicured, scented hands. But make no mistake.

They may not pull the triggers, slit throats, or switch the detonators. That’s for the goons on the ground to do and to keep the blood from appearing on those scented, lily-white hands of their bosses.

In the Orwellian world of Western governments, these politicians are called “Foreign Ministers.” In the world of normative reasoning and language, they are known simply as “Ministers of Terrorism.”

Page Five

Tribute to Cde Premchand Dass

by Cde Komal Chand, President of GAWU

chand was appointed Principal of the jects. A notable quality of his is he never lost touch with Union’s School, a position he held ordinary comrades. for many years. Additionally, Prem When he was an archivist of the Cheddi Jagan Research served as a member of the Industrial Centre, he would often come over to the Union’s HeadRelations Department of the Union, quarters with any document having relevance to sugar and with the restoration of Collec- and GAWU to make a copy for the Union to have, estive Bargaining with Guysuco in 1989, pecially in the light of the destruction of GAWU’s rich after a lapse of fourteen (14) years historical records, which were lost during the post-elecPrem became a permanent member tion disturbances when a fire fully gutted the Union’s of GAWU’s negotiating team, where Office in April, 2001 in Regent Street. he ardently argued for the improveMany workers and students who attended GAWU’s ment in sugar workers’ working con- School and the People’s Progressive Party Accabre Colditions and adequate yearly pay rises. lege will remember Prem. They will recall him especialPrem’s prominence in the Union ly as a strong believer in and a consistent advocate of was indeed remarkable. He rose to, the Marxist-Leninist theory, which speaks to the liberaand served as, First Vice President tion of the working class from the shackles of exploitafrom the Union’s Triennial Congress tion. Comrades and friends, we no longer have Prem, in 1997, and continued to be elected who was an uncompromising follower of Cheddi Jagan, to that post until his death earlier this but we have his memories. As a Unionist and a PolitiCde Premchand receiving his Award Certificate from former President Bharrat week. He was always proud of his Un- cian, he did his duty. He made a sterling contribution Jagdeo at our Union’s 19th Delegates’ Congress in August, 2009 ion status, and cherished same. His for the improvement of the lives of workers and the On behalf of the General Council and the membership service in the Union also involved international activi- betterment of Guyana. of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union Fittingly, at GAWU’s last Congress, in August, 2009, ties, and he was called upon to represent the Union at (GAWU), and on my own behalf, allow me to extend Prem received a gold pendant which replicated the Unseveral such activities overseas. our condolences to Prem’s dear wife, Devi, his three (3) Comrade Premchand’s links with GAWU did not come ion’s logo, and a Certificate in Recognition of his Sterchildren: Arun, Avinash and Sonia, and his relatives and to a close on his retirement. He continued to show a ling Contribution to the growth, development and confriends. deep interest in the work and challenges faced by the solidation of the Union.

Comrade Premchand Richard Dass, more often reWe say goodbye to a dear friend and comrade of the Union, and sugar workers particularly. He would conferred to as Prem, was an employee of our Union for stantly share his thoughts and views on issues and working class, and an outstanding leader of GAWU. almost three (3) decades. He served our Union in difwould give suggestions and proposals on different subferent but important capacities, until he retired in 2002 owing to health reasons. He began his work in the Union as the Field Secretary at Albion Estate in 1976. Later, he became Principal of the Union’s School in Georgetown and simultaneously a member of the Industrial As part of the preparatory activities towards the Relations Department of the Union.

20th Delegates’ Congress of the Guyana AgriculCde Dass’s support and association with GAWU went tural and General Workers Union (GAWU), a counback to the late 1960’s when GAWU was engaged in its trywide Union-oriented Raffle was held. It is one long struggle to become the recognised Union for Field of the mechanisms that the Union membership, and Factory workers in the sugar belt. As a PYO-ite in friends and the general public used to contribute the latter part of the 1960’s, and later, when he became to the success of the Union’s Congress. a member of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), his support to GAWU deepened through his activist work, The Raffle was drawn on (Wednesday, August 15, which led him naturally to interact with sugar workers, 2012) on the ground floor of the Fogarty’s Buildparticularly those of Albion and Port Mourant Estates. ing, and the winning tickets are as follows:On the recognition of GAWU, achieved in early 1976 after a prolonged struggle, GAWU was confronted with No. Top Prizes

Ticket # the need to complement its staff to discharge, among 1st One Jialing Scooter 13291 other things, its representational functions on the dif2nd One 9.5 cu ft Refrigerator 10915 Officials of the Union and onlookers at the drawing of the raffle at ferent estates. Prem was invited to become the Union’s 3rd One 4 burner gas stove 533 Fogarty’s on August 15, 2012 Field Secretary for Albion/Port Mourant Estate, which 4th One home theatre system 2508 7 1446 8 14770 still has the largest workforce in the industry. He read5th One 20” Sharp Television 1491 9 2158 10 16412 ily agreed, and thus his long link and work with workers 6th One Microwave oven 4629 11 16590 12 4396 and the Union began. His past association with work7th One Mountain bicycle 20967 13 1511 14 2160 ers’ struggles gave him a distinct advantage in his new 8th One Cellular Phone 5138 15 16415 16 7730 job; as previously, he served as an Organiser of the 9th One Mp3 Player 18102 17 6112 18 1447 People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Manager of the 10th One Blender 14053 19 16250 20 5610 Michael Forde Bookshop in New Amsterdam, Berbice.

11th One Food Processor 21261 21 18621 22 5430 Cde Premchand learned early that a good work12th One Electric Iron 7533 23 16414 24 10071 ers’ leader is one with a sound understanding of the 25 3351 working-class ideology. His theoretical groundings deConsolation Prizes The Union wishes to express its appreciation to all veloped through his participation in the educational those who supported its Raffle, and wishes to advise courses overseas and those held locally by the Peo# Ticket# # Ticket# winning ticket holders to make contact with its Headple’s Progressive Party. His grasp of Marxism-Leninism, 1 16413 2 11361 quarters at Kingston, Georgetown. All winning-ticket the scientific theory of the working-class, made him a 3 4546 4 16247 holders have until November 16, 2012 to claim their prime candidate to head the GAWU School.

5 20274 6 16417 prizes.

Thus, after some years as Field Secretary, Prem-

GAWU drew fund-raising Raffle

COMBAT: July/August, 2012

Page Six

GAWU’s 20th Delegates’ Congress

Promoting Workers’ Interests to Advance Economic & Social Development August 25, 27 and 28, 2012

Delegates and Observers at the Business Session of the 20th Delegates’ Congresss at the Bath Primary School

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) three (3)-day 20th Delegates’ Congress, held under the theme: “Promoting Workers Interests to Advance Economic and Social Development”, concluded on (Tuesday) August 28, 2012 at Bath Primary School, West Coast Berbice, with its tasks accomplished.

The participation of almost 500 delegates and observers of the Union’s membership from its 14 bargaining units assured success in the overall proceedings. The Opening Session was held at the Guyana International Conference Centre, and the Business Session was convened at the Bath Primary School.

His Excellency, President Donald Ramotar, who delivered the feature address, spoke to the tangible support his Government has been providing to the sugar industry at this critical period. In his address, he reminded us of the importance of the industry, and its huge contribution to the economy. He spoke to the efforts of the Government to retain the industry as state-owned.

He also referred to those sugar industries in the Caribbean which chose the path of closure less than five (5) years ago, when the European Union (EU) reduced the price it was paying ACP sugar-producing countries for its sugar.

GAWU’s President, Komal Chand, in his address, noted that in the last three (3) years leading up to the Union’s 20th Congress, GAWU was confronted with a fair share of challenges, but was able to adequately and appropriately defend its membership, and was able to score many victories and achievements. He advised union members to remain united behind the Union, noting that there are elements who are seeking to undermine workers unity, and the workers would be losers if they allow them to.

He noted that, nationally, Guyana continues to experience and witness growth and development in many areas across the country, and he took note of the successive years of positive economic growth. Cde Chand also noted the challenges and roadblocks which are COMBAT: July/August, 2012

confronting development projects now-a-days and the need to overcome same.

On the sugar industry, GAWU’s President also reminded delegates, observers and special invitees of the industry’s importance to the nation. He lamented the industry’s poor sugar production performance over the last few years, and the financial predicament which Guysuco now finds itself in. The co-operative effort of all, he insisted, could contribute to the industry’s return to sustainability, in light of the favourable world sugar price. The Union’s President reiterated the view that with sugar production reaching a level of 300,000 tonnes and then continuing to climb, the industry can once again become sustainable.

The Opening Session was also addressed by Cde Bert Patterson, General Secretary of the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union (GTAWU); Cde Clifton Grant, First Vice President of the University and Allied Workers Union (UAWU) of Jamaica; Cde Marcela Maspero, Presidential Council member of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU); Cde Carvil Duncan, President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG); and Cde Kenneth Joseph, General Secretary of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE). Additionally, Congress was informed of the messages of greetings and solidarity from fraternal organisations which were received by GAWU. Also, twenty-two (22) members of the Union ,who provided dedicated and unstinted support and played a role in advancing and developing GAWU over the years, were also appropriately honoured at the Opening Session. A certificate reading “Award in Appreciation and Recognition of Loyal and Dedicated Service to the Union” and a gold broach was given to each awardee.

Delegates and observers of Congress were presented with a General Council Report by the Union’s General Secretary, Seepaul Narine. The report reflected and drew attention to over fifty (50) issues which the Un-

ion considered relevant for Congress discussions. Following the General Secretary’s presentation, members from the floor took part in an open discussion; and, where required, members received responses from the Union’s leadership.

Congress also unanimously approved nine (9) resolutions on Tax Reform, Local Government Elections, EU Accompanying Measures, Annual Production Incentive (API) and Weekly Production Incentive (WPI), the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Education and Training, the Sugar Industry, Ex-Gratia Pension, and Unity of the Working Class. The resolutions will now be sent to different agencies and bodies for their attention.

Delegates also elected a fifty-three (53)-member General Council which is charged with managing the affairs of the Union until its next Congress - 21st Delegates’ Congress. Members of the General Council, at their first meeting of the Council, will elect the officials of the Union, in keeping with the Union’s Constitution.

The Congress concluded with a Charge given by the Union’s President, Komal Chand. He took cognizance of the massive resistance and fight back taking place in many countries against the capitalist system. He spoke to the need for support and co-operation to rebuild the important sugar industry, and in so doing, it would be possible to resist strongly any act to privatize it. He called for workers to continue to defend their gains, and stressed the importance of their being united in these times. In this respect, he emphasized that the members must be wary of those who are misguiding them and seeking division of our ranks. He also stressed on the need for union members to make full use of the Union’s educational programme, and for them to be more committed to the Union as it pursues and grapples with the various challenges faced by members.

From all accounts, the 20th Congress of GAWU was a genuine workers’ forum, and concluded successfully.

Page Seven

Messages to Congress The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), as a member of the international working class movement, received many messages of greetings and solidarity on the occassion of its 20th Congress.

Below we have exerpted the messages of the three (3) overseas guests who attended the Congress.

From the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union (GTAWU), by Bert Patterson, General Secretary “I think the most important solidarity message I can bring to you at this time is in the form of self-reckoning. We must all be aware of the 40-year-old exercise in Globalisation and its gains, like access to manufactured goods, economic growth Cde Bert Patterson in some countries, access to new export markets for some countries, free movement of finance and goods, among others. We must also recognise the down sides, namely loss of jobs in some countries; the disappearance of cottage industries all over the world, and the consequential destruction of rural economies; deregulation of the finance sector, resulting in billions of dollars of workers’ pension funds being lost The net result of all this, as reported in the BBC documentary ‘How the West went Burst’ is that, over the last 40 years, with all our working class wage increases achieved through vigorous Trade Union activity, the real income of working people has remained the same as a result of wage increases being eaten up by increases in the cost of living (inflation). On the other hand, Executive Pay and Capital Gains have increased by 600% even with the same 40-year inflationary factors being considered.”

“There is no doubt that Economic strife is in progress, and we, the Trade Unions, are in the heat of it as we strive to “Advance Economic and Social Development”, as borrowed from your Congress theme.

The employers, whose theme is slightly different reflect the sentiments ‘reduce cost of labour, reduce workers’ benefits, reduce job security, while in the process maximizing profits and maximizing capital gains’, have been winning, as the disparity in earnings have

shown, and therefore it is imperative that we use the same tool, ‘globalisation’, to combine our resources and be able to address the deficiency in our attempts to match the resources of the multi-national entities on their global stage.”

“There is nothing I can suggest that is as important in the drive to ‘Promoting Workers’ Interests to Advance Economic and Social Development’ as our survival depends on it.”

From the University and Allied Workers Union (UAAW) of Jamaica, by Clifton Grant, First Vice President “The theme of your Congress, “Promoting Workers’ Interests to Advance Economic and Social Development”, is a resolve of the GAWU to ensure that the workers must enjoy some of the benefits of economic growth.

The building and Cde Clifton Grant establishing of your Labour College is a clear sign of your commitment to play your part, to ensure that the working people of your country and the region get the necessary education and training, to make their contribution to economic and social development.

Our Union is committing our full support to ensure that your Labour College succeeds in meetings its goals and objectives.

Your Union has always been involved in the struggles, to protect the rights of the workers, not only locally, but regionally and globally.

Your involvement in the Independent Trade Union Centre in Guyana, the World Federation of Trade Unions and the International Union of Food, Agriculture, Hotels, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Association – to which your General Secretary, Brother Seepaul is a member of the Executive and President of the Caribbean Regional Committee, is a clear demonstration that you are willing and determined to contribute at the highest level in the regional and global trade union organisations” From the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)

by Marcela Maspero, Presidential Council Member “In the world today, there is a big discussion about the

topic of food, which the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) has in its programme. The WFTU takes belligerent stance in the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), because a fundamental issue for the workers of the world must be the eradication of hunger and poverty, which Cde Marcela Maspero take high priority in our Latin American and Caribbean countries. Many countries can be self-sustainable in the production of food, and therefore, they must execute policies to feed the hundreds of thousands of poor people that don’t have access to proper nutrition, much less to social security and dignified employment. More organisations pressing for the redistribution of the wealth are needed. We need more strong organisations such as GAWU in our continent.

The structural crisis of capitalism and the politics of the reactionary European governments are demolishing the welfare state constructed by the struggles of the workers over decades. At this point, we wish to greet the workers and the Greek people for the confrontation and fighting spirit against the ‘Troika’ in the country constituted by the World Bank, the IMF and the Government of that country. We wish especially to extend our solidarity to PAME (Workers Union of Greece), a trade union movement of which our General Secretary, George Mavrikos, is part, in being a leading organization in the struggle.”

“The wealth belongs to those that produce it. We are fighting for water, medication, education, health, housing and food. We invite our Guyanese brothers to join us. As a Venezuelan worker, I must close by saying to my Guyanese brothers that, today in Latin America and the Caribbean region, there is the construction of a pole of resistance to capitalism and imperialism. A number of progressive governments are emerging, and important strategic economic and commercial alliances like ALBA (the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America), UNASUR and Petrocaribe are contributing to mutually assist member countries. I invite you all to the integration as people and as a class to make sustainable the process of National Liberation of sovereignty of independence that our people can live, because only the working-class is capable of constructing socialism.

General Secretary’s Congress Report captures agreements and setbacks General Secretary’s reports are often received with mixed emotions and reactions by the membership, who have to ensure listening to and reading them.

However, when the General Secretary is Cde Seepaul Narine of the largest union in this CARICOM region and when he is reporting on behalf of the fifty-three (53)-member General Council of the Union, to the hundreds of Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) members at that organisation’s 2012 Twentieth (20th) Delegates’ Congress, then that Report becomes both a current review and guide and an historical record for the archival library of that Union.

Reflecting the three-(3)-year period of work (2009 to 2012) with all its activities, challenges and achievements, the Report of the General Council can be a daunting task – if it is to capture faithfully the union’s character, effectiveness and general image.

But Seepaul Narine is a seasoned General Secretary and unionist and GAWU is an extremely well-organised entity with a penchant for scrupulous record-keeping.

The General Secretary’s Reports are, therefore, usually COMBAT: July/August, 2012

comprehensive records – often with reasoned opinions and analyses – which announce to the union’s membership just what the union was doing in their interest over the previous three (3) years.

The 2012 Report was/is such a document. It is a 47page review covering fifty-four (54) sections or chapters. Whilst the sugar sector commands a significant portion of the report – 14 chapters – with sugar workers comprising a huge majority of the Union’s membership, the review indicates clearly that GAWU represents other vital components of the nation’s labour force – in the fishing industry, alcoholic, beverage industry, timber, rice, the MMA/ADA, and the Berbice Bridge, amongst others.

From the Union’s responsible militancy at places such as the National Parks Commission (NPC), DDL and, of course in the sugar sector, to the AFC’s intrusion into GAWU’s industrial disputes for political reasons – to the damning de-recognition thoughts by Guysuco, the 2012 General Secretary’s Report is replete with the Union’s stewardship.

Representatives of GAWU at all entitles with which there are Collective Labour Agreements should make the report compulsory reading and study amongst rank-and-file members. That’s because the General Secretary’s Report 2012 captures the Union’s existence and struggles on their behalf. The membership and general audiences can get accurate word pictures of GAWU’s status as an internationally-affiliated workers’ organization; as a bargaining agent which promotes long-term welfare through a vibrant and viable Credit Union. As an educational institution, the GAWU Labour College constantly upgrading its official trade union expertise; as a patriotic organization it participates in national events and commemorative ceremonies; and as an institution it is now inseparable from Guyana’s very identity.

General Secretary Narine is to be congratulated for producing such a comprehensive yet easy to read document. The Report of the General Council 2012 is a true testimony to the effectiveness and status of Guyana’s premier trade union.

Page Eight

Feature Address “Comrades, it is indeed a great honour and pleasure to address you at this most important event of your union. I have had long relations with this union. As a young worker, I was a member of this organization.

Later, I became a part of the leadership.

“A great deal of my social and political activities were also linked to this union. I am proud to have been a foot soldier in the People’s Progressive Party during the time we struggled for the recognition of GAWU. I was one of the participants looking out for your interests during the historic poll of December 31, 1975.

“Without a doubt, from GAWU’s inception in the 1940s, it has been the foremost union in defence of working people’s rights.

“From Enmore in 1948, this union participated in some of labour’s most valiant struggles. Very often, it was not only to defend its own members, but also the working class as a whole.

“The GAWU also occupied a position of prominence, because it represented workers that were at the heart of our economy. That is why many of the industrial disputes often assumed political and national significance.

“This union has a rich history. During the period of colonialism, the members of this organization played a leading role.

“Later, during the period of undemocratic rule, GAWU was in the forefront of the epic fight for democracy.

“At the national level, the PPPC government has from its inception, took the philosophical position that the most important factor for development is people. We have invested appreciably in our people. This can be seen by an examination of our budget and how resources are allocated.

“More than thirty percent (30%) of our budget goes to the social sector. Education, health, housing, water have been given priority. Here, the working people are the biggest beneficiaries. A more educated and healthier working generation are coming to the fore, opening the possibility for us to use more sophisticated tools and the potential of boosting productivity.

“On the other hand, the working class in Guyana is being affected by the lack of unity that exists in the movement as a whole. As long as this division exists, the movement is in danger of weakening. The strength of the workers always lay in its numbers and in unity of all workers.

“It is therefore important that we identify the cause of the division and try to deal with it.

“Another issue has to do with the politics in the movement. I agree that the trade unionists must have an active interest in politics. This is important for them to protect and promote the interests of working people. The trade unions in the past, in the 40s and 50s, were fighting to have representatives in the Parliament to look after the interests of workers. Nowadays, some workers are being influenced otherwise, that is not a good thing. I tell you today that it is very important to have the representatives of the working class in the level of Parliament to secure the interest of the workers everywhere, to ensure that laws passed do not impinge on the workers’ rights.

“However, we have seen some extremist elements parading as trade unionists, when in fact they are taking positions that are often detrimental to workers, and obviously with a politics that is harmful to working people.

“There is another tendency, too, for persons to pretend to be friends of workers, when in fact all they want is to use workers to promote their personal agendas, which more often than not are anti-working class in nature. Some at times speak of the love for sugar workers, when they were among others who advocated the closure of sugar.

“GAWU has for long been identified with the sugar industry. As such, I wish to speak specifically to the situation as regards sugar. The industry is one of the most important in Guyana, and historically has consistently made a huge contribution to the economy. It is the largest employer of labour, and has, over the years, provided the nation with managerial skills and strong technical workers.

“First of all, I wish to reiterate my government’s commitment to the sugar industry. As you know, we have made huge investments in this industry. I would admit that we had expected a more rapid return on our investment at Skeldon, but you are aware of many of the problems we faced there. That investment is our commitment to secure sugar. It is the largest single investment to date – US$200 M. COMBAT: July/August, 2012

“We are fixing these problems at Skeldon, and I still hold the view that, sooner rather than later, the Skeldon Factory will be the flagship of this industry. But that is not all. This year, we injected some G$4B to rehabilitate the industry’s infrastructure and helping to meet its operating costs.

“We invested heavily in diversifying and value adding in the Industry. Some US$12.8 M was invested in the new Packaging Plant at Enmore. We have established

His Excellency, President Donald Ramotar delivering the feature address at the Opening Session

cogenerating facilities as Skeldon. We are examining the feasibility to do others.

“A lot of the difficulties that we face today have their origins outside of our borders. They have caused big problems for us, and demanded the need to restructure.

“Since the floods of 2005, the production did not recover, and has failed to reach the level attained in 2004. This presents a real challenge to the industry as a whole. All these things you know.

“Clearly, the recovery calls for commitment and dedication from all concerned. We cannot continue as though everything is normal.

“I wish to point out that, with far less problems that we face, other sugar industries in the Caribbean were closed. In one case it led to privatization.

“Let those who question our commitment consider those facts.

“Indeed, many who now are posing as friends to workers have advocated the closure of the industry, that has led them to criticize the investment we have been making.

“I am ready to accommodate the union in helping in the management of the industry. We are open to suggestions as to the levels that the union feels they can play a role.

“The attitude of management, some of whom see themselves as substitutes for the plantocracy and want better conditions than the expatriates had, must recognize the need for change. Even in the colonial times,

managers went into the backdam to ensure standards of work. We cannot manage nowadays by cell phone.

Nothing is better than seeing for ourselves in the backdam.

“Management has to be more participatory and inclusive. Tremendous experience and ideas reside in the ranks of the workers. Management must create the mechanism to benefit from workers’ suggestions, proposals and tremendous knowledge of the industry.

I am always amazed at the depth of their knowledge whenever I speak with sugar workers.

“Workers must also be aware that this industry is important, and we are working to keep it in the hands of the people of Guyana. However, our success in doing so depends heavily on your attitude and your readiness to work together to turn the industry around. That is the only way we can keep the industry viable and in the hands of the people of this country.

“Comrades, I wish to also point out to you that while we have been trying to improve the conditions of all of our working people by strengthening laws and improving conditions socially and economically, the situation internationally for workers is not so good. We have to be concerned about this, since we depend heavily on international trade. It means that those events can have their impact on us. An example is the cut in price for sugar in Europe has created many problems at home.

“The crisis that broke out in Europe and the United States in 2008 continues to create havoc for the working people, and those crises have spread to many parts of the world, including in the Caribbean.

“No doubt, you have been following the news and you know that millions of workers have lost their jobs.

“Although in some areas of the US they have been speaking of a recovery, unemployment is still high and wages very depressed.

Unemployment is the biggest issue in the developed world today, as it is in developing countries. Some of the figures are staggering.

“Poverty is increasing and is devastating many communities overseas. The increase in poverty and hunger is not confined to Third World countries any longer, but in many rich countries it is now a major issue.

“Because of the crisis, workers have been shouldering a lot of the burden for the recovery. Workers and their unions in the US and Europe have been forced to accept wage cuts and wages freezes.

“These wages cuts and freezes have not been confined to businesses that find themselves in difficult circumstances.

“Many highly profitable companies are taking advantage of the crisis and are forcing workers to take cuts in their wages and salaries. The AFL-CIO has been highlighting many cases.

“One glaring example is the struggle of workers of Caterpillar Company in the US. The company has demanded that the workers must accept a six-year wage freeze.

Moreover, they have also demanded that the workers must double their contributions for health care, while accepting cuts in pensions.

“This is happening at the same time when the profits of the company have soared. Last year, that company made almost US$5 billion in profits. The CEO of the company, at the same time, was paid a bonus of US$11 million.”

“Mr. Chairman, Guyana is in safe hands, and the future looks promising. Despite the global crises and the risk of contagion that these represent for small developing countries such as Guyana, the prudent measures that we have taken over the years have allowed us to build greater economic resilience. We have to continue to reduce our vulnerabilities to both internal and external shocks.

“The way to do so is by broadening the base of the economy, modernizing the traditional sectors, and seeking investments in new areas. We must move away from the dependence on one, two or three sectors.

“I want to therefore assure you, the members of this great union, that the interests of the workers are dear to the government that I head.

“I urge you to join me in this noble task of fulfilling this dream of economic and social transformation, which so many of our leaders and so many of our workers struggled for.

“I wish your congress fruitful deliberations, and hope that the decisions taken here will benefit you, first of all, and the development of our people in general.”

Page Nine

GAWU Presidential Address

“I take this opportune moment to join our distinguished Chairman in welcoming every one of you to this wonderful event, which at the same time is GAWU’s highest decision-making forum. In and by itself, it is a remarkable manifestation of the democratic nature of our Union.

We have come a long way to arrive at this 20th Delegates’ Congress. We travelled a path that is filled with history. We have scored many victories, had our fair share of disappointments, and, overall, we can proudly claim we positively impacted the sugar industry, and certainly our nation’s economic life.

“With us, at this Opening Session of our Congress, are special invitees from various walks of life. The Union’s leadership is pleased that they accepted its invitation to attend, and I extend to them a warm welcome at this time. Our opening proceedings are also graced by the newly-appointed Chairman of Guysuco’s Board, Dr Raj Singh, no stranger to the sugar industry nor GAWU. While he and his fellow board members and Guysuco’s management must now get down to demanding tasks, I am sure he shares the view and will work to realise improved relations between the workers and the Union and Guysuco’s management at all levels, which are a key factor to make the industry once again viable.

“Attending our Congress are also representatives from fraternal unions: from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), from the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union (GTAWU), and the University and Allied Workers Union (UAAW) of Jamaica. We welcome them with a fraternal embrace. We thank them for their messages, and look forward to their full participation in the Congress proceedings.

“I cannot resist the urge – the duty – to extend an extra special welcome to His Excellency, President Donald Ramotar.

This, naturally, is his first participation at a GAWU Congress as President of the Republic.

“However, many would know that the Comrade President actually served GAWU in its earlier days, and his earlier years as International Affairs Secretary.

He has retained that link to the Union over the years, even when he served in the Board of the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (Guysuco). That President Ramotar has accepted our invitation to address Congress suggests that he is not removed from the workers’ cause and cares. We eagerly await your address, Cde President.

“Our theme, “Promoting Workers Interests to Advance Economic and Social Development”, we think, captures the objectives that our Congress delegates and observers should seek to achieve from their deliberations.

“Comrades and Friends, three (3) years ago, in my address, I sought to present the context, the challenges and achievements significant to both GAWU and Guyana; since our Union, like all progressive unions, is not only concerned with bread and butter issues, but general de-

COMBAT: July/August, 2012

velopments in our country and internationally as well.

“At that 19th Congress, I was in a position to proudly remind all that though the world was in the throes of one of the most vicious, US-inspired, global economic meltdowns, Guyana was weathering the financial crisis through prudent management of all of its resources, especially the fiscal and financial. I recall speaking at our last Congress of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007 at our brand-new Providence Stadium, our new-found status as International Venue for such Conferences as the Rio Summit, Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting, and the dazzling Carifesta Ten. “I also observed then that other notable developments were the reality of a new Berbice River Bridge, and the UN Law of the Sea award advising our Surinamese neighbours of what was lawfully ours in the Corentyne, and there was the Opening of the BrazilGuyana Takutu Bridge!

“That the previous PPP/Civic Administration did achieve in the face of the sustained external and internal impediments is indisputable. These were some of the landmark achievements that show Guyana is on

GAWU President, Komal Chand delivering his address

the move, and that we have broken out from the grips of retrogression and marking-time that was once our lot.

“But growth and development must continue. Expectations keep rising for even more achievements.

“Over the preceding three (3) years, the PPP/C administration, we must admit, maintained a course of building our country that would be developed and modernized. Several new projects were initiated in the continuing process since we last met.

“Some that come to mind, we would recall, are projects such as construction of the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Plant; distribution of computers (laptops) to families; construction of a bridge to connect Guyana and Suriname; continuing exploration for oil; opening of the

Enmore Packaging Plant; construction of the four-lane highway linking the Timehri airport; running of the cable lines from Brazil, which will provide cheaper Internet services; the several projects for Amerindian villages contained in the LCDS programme; opening of the Olympic-sized swimming pool; the athletic track; huge investments in agriculture, especially with respect to drainage and irrigation; continuing expansion of housing; and in provision of social services, subsidization of the cost of power that reaches our home; the raising of the income-tax threshold to $50,000; increases in oldage pensions, and we could go on.

“Many of these projects are already on stream. However, a few have encountered difficulties and have been temporarily held up; but these are the indicators that our country is advancing steadily along the path of progress. Admittedly, that path is not smooth, problems of one kind or another emerge along the way; but these must be overcome. Development, it would appear, brings along its own set of problems, often unforeseen and quite knotty problems to undo.

“We are aware that strong criticisms have been levelled, at times not without justification, at the administration for the shoddy and mediocre work done by those engaged, especially in infrastructural projects.

This must not continue and be condoned. The expenditures involved are high. And despite the constraints of effective monitoring of such projects, the administration is duty-bound to look harder for solutions.

“One idea advocated some time back was to have a select committee of residents in a community, district or region where a project is going on empowered to monitor it; and, along with other officials, ensure that work is done according to specification and projected timetable. While this idea is in practice in some instances, it ought to be as widespread as possible.

“At the level of our economy, we are pleased to learn of a consistent growth pattern. In 2010, there was a 4.4 per cent growth of our economy; in 2011, it was 5.4 per cent, and it is projected this year to be 4.1 per cent.

Depending on one’s perspective, it could be modest, viewed from Guyana’s needs; or significant, relative to other countries, and considering that the world is still caught in the throes of an economic/financial crisis.

“What must be underlined is the tendency to go forward, not backward. Better economic performances should bring benefits to our citizens, especially the working people, and be reflected in the enhancement of their living standards and betterment of their communities.

“A significant occurrence in our Country’s Life within the last three (3) years, you would agree, was the holding of National and Regional Elections in November, 2011. Many of you took part in those elections, exercising your franchise in a democratic way. Although a foreign hand was evident in a minimal way, we had, once more, a free, fair and transparent elections. Hopefully, we would have left to a bygone past the days of authoritarianism, when it was normal to have fraudulent, rigged and violence-prone elections.

“The outcome of the November, 2011 elections could be regarded as historic, as they ushered in very new experiences to our politics. However, with the new composition in Parliament, what is unfolding in practice does not give us hope for the immediate future.

Smooth governance is clearly affected; developmental projects linked to the LCDS were expunged from the Budget; hundreds of workers’ jobs stand threatened due to the cut in the Budget. Prior to the elections, matters of national development and interests enjoyed almost always united support. It seems now that such an approach is beginning to change.

“We must also be concerned with the appearance on the political scene of opportunists and of extremist tendencies; and the ease with which ideals, principles and values are so readily compromised by a few, driven, no Page Ten

Iraq invasion in 1991, ostensibly to free Kuwait. Or, are doubt, by political self-interests.

“Comrades, the General Council’s report will discuss these the fruits and results of ‘globalisation’, so obsesthe sugar industry in a comprehensive manner. As a sively championed by President Clinton? Or, are these Union whose membership largely comes from that in- the ‘change’ President Obama promised on the camdustry, its performance and fortunes are of special in- paign trail a few years ago, and contained in the slogan terest to us. The industry’s financial status leaves much ‘change you can believe in’?

“The world, it appears, is being pushed inexorably toto be desired. Continuing along that road has several consequences for the industry and its workers as well. wards the precipice. The possibility of a third world war We are already seeing several manifestations of those. is more and more spoken about by social and political Sometimes, management seeks to roll back gains, or analysts. And when we think that things cannot get change conditions and/or interfere with established worse, we hear that poverty, starvation and acute malpractices, and these tend to stir the ire of the work- nutrition are spreading; and food shortages are at the doorsteps of peoples in many, many countries of the force.

“Allow me to repeat clearly that it is foolish and short- world. Yet, in the face of such dire threats, land grabs in sighted to travel down a road that cannot be helpful to developing countries are taking place to the disadvana harmonious relationship. Management, government tage of peasants and local small farmers.

“Some tell us that we are in the grip of insane forces. and workers and their Union all have a stake in the sugar industry. As such a co-operative approach, is there- It surely looks so. But behind the madness of the rulfore, desirable, along with other measures taken so far, ing elites, there is purpose. The truth that the capitalist could result in dividends; and, more importantly, im- system is possessed with an insatiable greed is today prove the fortunes of the industry at a quickened pace. confirmed. That greed and the pursuit of super profits “For the nation, the industry is the bedrock of the drive its ruling classes to commit all types of unspeakeconomy. Its contribution to the economy and our so- able crimes. They are, moreover, driven in our time by cial welfare cannot be underscored. Prevailing sugar dreams of world domination and the control of the prices, and the possibility of even higher prices influ- world’s strategic resources – primarily oil.

“These are the objectives that are responsible for the enced by drought and floods worldwide, assure us that the industry can become once again prosperous. Sug- rise of militarism in the world. These constitute the viar production, therefore, must ascend without much delay to 300,000 tonnes, then to higher levels – all possible within the industry’s present capacity.

“In recent months, the Union had cause to publicly express its disquiet at uncalled-for interference by activists of the AFC in matters engaging the Union’s attention; or, at the local level, the representatives’ attention, as our Trade Union practices warrant.

“The Union views such excursions as ominous. It can only result in breaking our unity and, in the end, undermining our collective militancy. For those who may think that such a presence is a clever ploy that will bring pressure to bear for some immediate gain, they should think again; they should consider the harm they are really doing to their fel- Delegates, observers and special invitees at the Opening Session of the Congress low workers and the bigger causes before us. There are individuals around behaving op- rus that is behind the war fever that has infected the portunistically, ready to crawl into easy openings given US ruling class, and which is reaching epidemic proto them. But watch out for their bark and their bite. portions. Moreover, wars bring mega-profits for the Be careful, be watchful, do not be duped. The Union’s armaments corporations; but on the other hand, mass deaths and destruction to peoples, in the most part, unity is the only guarantee of a promising future.

“Comrades, our 20th Congress is meeting in trying and poor peoples.

“The masses of the world’s peoples naturally reject dangerous times. There were previous occasions when our Union would assess the international situation as unjust wars, and so do we. Wars of aggression, wars exciting and hopeful. Not so today. When we look at the to plunder developing countries’ resources and re-colworld, we see widespread confusion promoted by the onize peoples, wars that lead to the occupation of peocorporate media and its mouthpieces; pervasive disor- ples’ land we condemn most forcefully. We condemn der, endless conflicts. The media screams at us regu- strongly also those ruling cliques who spawn such wars, larly about financial and economic crisis, bank scandals overt or covert, direct or by proxy.

“Behind the clouds darkened by capitalism-imperialand unjustifiable inequality. We hear these days about torture, targeted assassination, cyberwar, mass deaths, ism, hopeful signs have been kindled. A global fightback is underway. In the developed world, workers’ mass ruthless violence, and massive surveillance of people.

“A little deeper look reveals that much of these abomi- movements, democratic-minded people and students nations of our times flow from a common source. They have taken to the streets. There is a sharpening of the flow from the policies of the ruling classes ensconced class struggles around the so-called austerity measures in the centres of imperialism, which is headed by the which will worsen an already bad situation for workers and their families. There struggles are spreading and US empire.

“In the presence of such realities, one feels con- taking on different forms.

“In Latin and Central America and the Caribbean, sevstrained to ask if this is the ‘New World Order’ envisioned by President Bush Senior at the time of the first eral governments and social organisations are standing COMBAT: July/August, 2012

up to US imperialism. Other countries too. And in countries where US imperialism, its NATO allies and vassal states are violating their sovereignty, stiff resistance has been mounted.

“These different streams of resistance give rise to and fortify the belief that an alternative world order is very possible.

“These combined struggles could very well lead to a decisive shift in the world balance of forces, and with that, a new day dawning for the working man.

“Comrades, Climate Change and general environmental degradation continue to make bad news. There are still levels of hesitation and reluctance by the developed countries to take the necessary and appropriate steps to stem the decline across our planet. Rio+20, a conference of world leaders and dignitaries, concluded unsatisfactorily. The cycle of drought, floods, rising temperatures, threats of extinction of species and ecosystems, etc continue apace. Natural disasters are becoming features of many countries’ life. There effects on agriculture is being acutely felt these days as food shortages loom large and the threats of riots and instability grows.

“While the Guyana Government has a good record on this issue, many of the developed countries are found wanting. International bodies can and should play a bigger role on this question that involves the survival of our planet and humanity’s existence.

“GAWU has supported initiatives to come to grips with the environmental and climate issues of today, and will work – as it can – to advocate and strengthen the efforts, locally and aboard, to address this major 21st century concern.

“In our deliberations, comrade delegates and observers, we must bear in mind that so many things are still to be done. There are a number of issues we, as workers, need to raise, discuss and pronounce upon.

“Trade Union unity is still elusive, even though FITUG, to which GAWU belongs, remains a united body and regularly takes up workers’, trade unions’ and the country’s concerns. We should seek to better understand, and possibly examine, the development path that Guyana has embarked upon. We need to enquire whether we are getting the optimum returns from our resources’ extraction by foreign capital, and whether there is need to consider renegotiations.

We cannot, as stakeholders, not be involved in efforts to turn around the sugar industry. Indeed, we must seek to enhance our participation. Clearly, our fragile national unity is being undermined, and we need to be wary of extremist elements who can very well create a situation that can lead to who knows where. And while we respect and have confidence in many of our leaders, we need also to engage them regularly, reinforce them; and when possible, help them, too.

“Comrades, twelve (12) entities are represented at this Congress. We have grown. That shows confidence in our Union. It is a confidence born from our militancy, and the democratic and principled way we go about our work. On this path we must continue.

“This 20th Congress will certainly be another milestone in our rich history. Through our discussions and conclusions, let us make it a memorable one also. Despite the challenges before us, let us go forward with enthusiasm and optimism to bigger and better achievements.

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Congress in Pictures COMBAT is a publication of the Guyana Agricultural & General Workers Union (GAWU) 59 High Street & Wights Lane, Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana, S.A. Tel: 592-227-2091/2; 225-5321 , 223-6523 Fax: 592-227-2093 Email: gawu@bbgy.com Website: www.gawu.net