Wales sugar workers protest outside Parliament for severance
devastating impact on about 5000 persons.
He said right now the workers from Wales have no money to support their families and the government has not learned from that and are planning to close more estates.
He lamented that government’s decision to close the estates “certainly cannot work… I’m sure if we sit together we can find a solution… Our ancestors came to Guyana because of sugar.”
He said he understands the plight of the workers because his father was a sugar worker and he grew up on the estate at Enmore.
Rohee said he also offered solidarity to the workers because “I believe a grave injustice was done to them in terms of the attitude of the government to close down these two estates. So I think the workers are very justified in their actions…”
He said on one hand the government is saying that no decision has been made and that they are still having consultations with Jamaica and other sugar producing countries in the Caribbean.
On the other hand, he said, government is saying that the matter is coming to parliament for consideration on a White Paper and are taking steps to close the estates.
Zulficar Mustapha, another PPP/C MP present at the protest, said the workers are venting their frustration because “the government is taking advantage on sugar workers and also rice farmers in this country.”
He said too that “they are taking sugar workers for granted… As a matter of fact, I came from a sugar worker family. My father worked in the sugar industry until he reached pensionable age.” He added: “Government should listen to the sugar workers and grant them their severance pay and ensure that they don’t close any more estates. Many persons would be on the breadline, not only these sugar workers but their families and a number of other people who depend on the sugar industry. We’ve seen the repercussions at Wales already…”
A cane-cutter from the Enmore estate, Roy Dundass said he and his colleagues were protesting the closure of the estate as it is taking bread out of their mouths.
He argued that the sugar industry is the “backbone of the country” and that closing the estate would be a big blow for the workers and would bring hardship to them. He called on government to take that into consideration and keep the estate in operation.
Another worker said he has two children to take care of and was worried about the effects the closure would have on him. He has to spend a lot on transportation and to do assignments at the internet.
He said everyone is aware that 85 percent of the sugar workers are early school leavers and it would be difficult for them to seek any other form of employment.The workers said they were pleading with the government to listen to their cries to keep that estate in operation.
They told SN that they have not been told officially that the estate would be closed but they have been hearing about it in the media.
They have seen how their colleagues at Wales are suffering following the closure there and are fearful about what would happen to them.
The sugar union said too in the release that the Enmore/LBI workers are concerned very much about their and their family’s future in view of a proposal, possibly a decision, to close their Estate and another at year-end.
It said the “workers and the union are staunchly opposed to the closure and sell-out of sugar estates and are committed to resist decisions in this direction. Such a move, we contend, will engender harsh and grave repercussions for the thousands of Guyanese and the scores of communities connected to the sugar estates in question.”
The release added: “The contemplation of enlarging the already sizeable unemployed pool in our country defies logic especially at this time when it is agreed that our economic fortunes are on the decline.”
It said that there is no comprehensive plan, at this time, to address the fallout from sugar estates closure and divestment and that the non-sugar ventures gives very little comfort.
GAWU firmly believes that the “sugar industry has all the possibilities to be placed on a viable and sustainable path.”
It has shared “workable proposals” in this regard but said it seems that the government has not considered it and remains “headstrong on a decision that will harm Guyana and Guyanese for generations to come. At this time, we urge, as we have done before, that we secure our sugar industry for ourselves and our posterity.”