Rose Hall sugar estate workers protest proposed closure
Scores of workers attached to the Rose Hall Estate, with the support of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), yesterday at 7 am held a protest in front of the estate in Rose Hall, Canje.
The protest was held so that the workers could sound their disapproval and annoyance at the government’s plan to close the estate, which the workers depend on for their “daily bread.”
The large number of workers present expressed how worried they are about their uncertain future. One worker Glendon, a harvester, who has been attached to the estate for over seventeen years stated that he is not sure what he will do, if or when, the estate is closed. He mentioned workers who have mortgages, families to provide for, and school-aged children, while questioning what will happen to those workers. “We got to look at people who get loan. How dem go pay the loan? How dem go take care of them kids?” he asked.
According to Glendon, he is hurt and strongly believes that the government did not take the workers and their families into consideration when making the decision to close, noting that such a harsh decision would not have been made if the government had “the people’s best interests at heart. Without a job, we can’t be successful in life, this is we bread noted.
Meanwhile, another worker pointed out that the government during the election campaign period had stressed that they would have worked on providing jobs for the citizens of the country. However, “Them just taking we jobs away, and ain’t providing no job”, the worker said.
Another harvester, Colin Goodluck stated that if the estate should close the entire region would be affected. “The young people will have no jobs. Those people with children going to school, how will they provide for them? This is our future at stake, there is a lot of questions on our mind, [and] we need to know what is going on.”
According to Goodluck, he is at a loss as to what he will do to provide for himself and his family if the estate closes permanently. “Even though there is farming on the East Bank Berbice, right on to New Forest depend totally on GuySuCo, Rose Hall Estate. This community will look like a ghost town,” he said.
“Everyone depend on this industry; the seller on the road, the hire car men, the store men, out of this everyone ah get dem daily bread”, observed Baidwattie Sookdeo. Sookdeo who has been attached to the Rose Hall Estate for twenty-eight years explained that she assists in taking care of her and butter”, he children. She noted that never in her life, after working so hard for so many years, did she think the option of closing down the sugar estate would have come about. “If dem give we land to cultivate who go buy from us if this industry close? Where this income go come from?” she asked.
Another one of the protesters insisted that the region will fall into a major crisis if the Rose Hall Estate is closed. He noted that closure of the estate might result in the crime rate spiraling out of control and even starvation, since not every worker would be able to secure another job immediately. “They need to reverse the decision and not close the estate. Not today sugar in crisis, sugar in crisis years now,” he observed.
The workers collectively pointed out that the government should implement plans to improve the sugar industry, and each factory by extension, instead of jumping to the option of closure.
GAWU representative, Harvey Tambron told Stabroek News that the protest is as a result of the sudden closure of Wales Estate and the recent announcement to close Enmore Estate, Rose Hall Estate and to sell Skeldon Estate. He noted that the community of Wales has become a “ghost town,” and if Rose Hall Estate were to close, Region Six
would meet the same fate. The workers’ representative noted that these decisions are being made and announced, “suddenly” without any consultations with the union and without any feasibility studies.
Tambron called for a feasibility study to be done before closing the Rose Hall Estate and also before putting the Skeldon Estate on sale. “A study would reveal how people would end up living. What would be the result of these decisions and that would tell you the alternative,” Tambron said.
Tambron said the union, along with members of GuySuCo and ministers of the government were part of a meeting on 30th December last year, where a notice was handed to everyone in attendance that stated, “words to the effect of the closure of Enmore Estate, Rose Hall Estate and the selling out of Skeldon Estate as well. We didn’t have the time to discuss anything. We said we should have these feasibility study done, and they said they were going to give us time to do them. We looked at it, and come up with twelve points where we can make sugar viable,” Tombran pointed out, while adding, that,” bottled molasses along with the co-generation plant at Skeldon Estate, and many other ideas were discussed. However, to the union’s surprise the government still went ahead with their plan to close and privatize the estates.”
“People will be seriously affected”, he stressed, while calling on the government to take a second look at the decision of closure or privatization.