Trailblazing trade unionist, Seepaul Narine, is a ‘Special Person’

Feb 16, 2014 News

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 “Work…work hard and look to the future. Life is what you make it. If you want to be successful, grasp the opportunities and moments available. They may never come again.”
 
By Leonard Gildarie

In history, labour and politics have always been an explosive mix. It requires a special breed of person to enter the world of trade unionism – political savvy, a flair for negotiation and a high degree of fearlessness are all essential attributes. And maybe a poker face.
In Guyana, names of the likes of Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, the five Enmore sugar workers who were killed, Komal Chand, Lincoln Lewis, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, and host of others will easily come to mind when trade unions are being discussed.

The sugar and bauxite industry have been areas in which the struggle for the rights of workers have all been recorded in history.
Sugar’s importance to the economy for almost three centuries has seen the emergence of one union which has grown into a powerhouse, spreading its tentacles to all the eight remaining estates, since gaining official recognition in 1976.
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) has always been closely linked with former President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, becoming in the ‘70s the sugar industry’s biggest bargaining unit. It is now representing workers also in the fisheries, rice and forestry sectors.
In the last two decades, two names have been at the forefront of GAWU – Komal Chand, the current President and its General Secretary, Seepaul Narine.
Since joining the union in 1984 as a young cane planter at Leonora, Seepaul has steadily climbed the ranks of GAWU, now holding the second most powerful position in the organisation. He is now seen as being a natural successor of Chand, whenever he retires.
Narine has been fighting battles all his life, now taking them to the boardroom where he has been leading negotiation teams for GAWU.
But it has not been an easy life for the trade unionist.

MURDERED
At just six months old, his father, 28 years old at the time, was killed during the 1964 disturbances that had torn the country apart. A ranger who was posted at the Hope estate, Seepaul’s father was eating lunch with a co-worker when both were attacked and killed. The perpetrators were never found.

His young mother, with Seepaul a baby and his sister just a little more than three years, was forced to flee Hope estate, known then as the Sankar’s estate, after their humble abode was torched.
She returned to her father’s home at Enterprise with her two young children, contemplating her next move. Life was tough. The young mother was forced to take a job as a weeder at the nearby Enmore sugar estate.
By the time he was seven, little Seepaul went to live with his father’s aunt in Kitty. His stepfather did not like him, so his mother made the decision that he be sent there.
Attending the Rama Krishna school in Kitty, the little country boy took a while to adjust to city life. His great aunt had 12 children and with the family involved in the cattle business, Seepaul was thrust into responsibility early. He was waking up in the wee hours of each day, feeding animals and doing other chores.
He was a competitive person by nature, topping his class and moving to North Georgetown Secondary, rated a top institution back then. He secured eight subjects in the GCE exams and went back to live with his mother who had by then separated from his abusive stepfather.
Now having four siblings, Narine went in search of a job at the Leonora estate. He had taught for six months at a city school.
Not successful at the estate, he was hired by a company that was building roads for Booker Tate, the company managing the sugar industry. For a few months, he pushed wheelbarrows and used shovels as he burnt bricks in an oven for use on the roads. It was hard work. He started assisting the manager of the project in making up the books. “I was promoted to Assistant Foreman, but in retrospect, I believe that it was just a ploy to give me more work,” he reflected with a broad smile.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The project came to an end within six months and Narine was now jobless. He eventually managed to secure a job at the Leonora estate and immediately joined up as a member of GAWU.

He moved up the ranks gradually and was later elected an executive member of a committee. This was after another representative indicated that he preferred younger blood and was willing to groom someone. Narine, as a hard worker, was seen as a natural choice.
“I was virtually thrust into the position not knowing much.”
Soon, he became busy making representation for the scores of workers at the estate.
He was selected for more training at the GAWU headquarters, Regent Street, on labour agreements, trade unionism and representations.
But life remained tough. He and his mother were the only ones working and there were five mouths to feed.
“I started cutting cane, weeding and any other jobs that came along to make money.”
It was the knowledge and experience gained from his all-round activities at that sugar estate that would later serve well at the negotiating table. There was little that he did not know of the sugar estates’ operations.
At just 20 years old, in 1984, Narine moved up to become Field Secretary, becoming an employee of GAWU. He quit his job at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).  He was sent to Lazario Penia, a trade union school in Cuba, to hone his skills even further.
In 1986, GuySuCo took a decision to close the Leonora estate as part of its restructuring plans and he was ordered by GAWU to report to its headquarters on Regent Street.
Labour relations at that time were hostile, with GAWU viewed by the administration as being synonymous with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) which was in opposition at the time.

ARREST
In 1985, Narine was arrested along with several union officials for leading a massive protest against food shortages. The march was between Uitvlugt and Leonora on the West Coast of Demerara. Police descended on the crowd and he was picked up. But his arrest lasted a mere three hours as the crowds converged on the police station, with even Dr. Jagan descending on the scene.
His home at Cornelia Ida and later Pouderoyen on the West Bank were raided a number of times by police, which Seepaul said was a tactic used to intimidate union workers. Sometimes, he received tips that an arrest, shortly before a GAWU Congress or major forum was likely, and he was forced to leave home a few hours earlier than usual.

At the GAWU office, he assisted as the note-taker for the Grievance Desk, later serving as the Assistant Communications Officer.
After a short-lived marriage, he met current wife, Pamela, and the two became a couple in 1986. She worked in the Kirpalani building on Regent Street, the same place in which GAWU was headquartered.
Things got tense for the labour scene in 1988 when GuySuCo refused to give in for one more day’s pay for workers, following negotiations. The then President, Desmond Hoyte, derecognized GAWU in a one-month strike.
The next year, strike action lasted six weeks, with unions protesting a national budget that passed measures for a devaluation of the Guyana dollar.
Narine by then was charged by GAWU to prepare daily reports of the sugar estates.
In 1990, the sugar industry went to a startling low, recording production of a mere 129,000 tonnes.
The administration brought in Booker Tate to manage GuySuCo and a significant increase to salaries and wages saw a declining industry slowly regaining its production levels, reaching over 240,000 tonnes by the mid-‘90s.
Narine was not above leading the charge. In the ‘90s, while leading workers of the Georgetown Seafoods on a protest outside of the offices of the Ministry of Labour, the vehicle of the then Minister Henry Jeffrey was surrounded. The seafood company was not happy that the union was moving in to represent workers. Somehow, a number of placards ended up on the Minister’s vehicle.
Narine was hauled before Dr. Jagan at Freedom House where he insisted that he was merely representing workers. Dr. Jagan agreed and that was the end of the matter.
Backed by GAWU, Narine and team moved in to BEV Enterprise, another seafood operation at Houston, East Bank Demerara.
Workers were willing for the union to represent them but remained scared of possible repercussions if they openly came out. A few of them had signed up. A meeting was called with management and knowing a request was likely for the number of workers interested in joining GAWU, Narine and his group came up with a plan.
“The file of names was a little thin so we padded it with a few papers and it appeared quite thick. The gamble seemed to have paid off. Management was impressed by looking at the file. Fortunately, they did not ask to see it. You see, I have learnt a few tricks along the way.”
To show that management was backing GAWU, the union officials then managed to convince them that they wanted to see the factory in operation.

“We told them that we heard they had a piece of equipment which cleaned shrimp and we were fascinated. What we really wanted was for the workers to see us with management. That gamble too paid off. GAWU became the bargaining body for workers at BEV.”
“We’ve had our battles at times. For example…Noble House Seafoods, at Eccles, not far away, was not so easy. The management refused our offers to represent workers. So we decided on a course of action. We went in the morning and later in the day when workers were going home. We used a loudspeaker in front of the compound and after two weeks, the management got fed up and called us in. It was a good result for us all”

SWEET VICTORY
But perhaps the biggest victory for Narine was the battle with Demerara Timbers Limited. The company had operations in Mabura.
“We went there a few times and they called police saying we were disturbing them with the loudspeakers. So we moved to the airstrip, which is neutral ground, with the police always present but unable to do anything.”
GAWU persisted. It was agreed for a poll to be done to determine how many of the workers wanted union representation. However, a wrench was thrown into the works during that process in 2006. A court injunction was served one afternoon. GAWU was facing defeat from the timber company as not enough workers had voted.
The labour officer decided to close off the process and after a speech asked if GAWU wanted to say anything.
“Of course I knew it was the last chance. I had two hours before the workers came out from their work. I started speaking on everything, from democracy to everything.”
It was the longest speech by Narine who felt like he was dying as the minutes ticked by. “The labour officer attempted to stop me several times and I persisted. At five minutes before three, I saw the workers coming out. I said thank God, I am saved and GAWU was saved.”
The workers voted, but the matter and the votes were taken before the courts which later ruled that the process was okay. GAWU had won.
“It was perhaps the greatest victory for me.”
GAWU is also involved in the rice industry, at the National Parks Commission.

ACCOMPLISHED
Seepaul Narine has studied in Russia and learnt that negotiating is an art that does not necessarily involve being adversarial.
“We can logically advance any case once we are aware of the issues even though at the negotiation table we may not always get what we want.”
Together with his wife, Pamela, the trade unionist has three children – the oldest at 26 is a computer technician while his eldest daughter, 20, works at a city bank. His younger daughter is at the University of Guyana studying geological engineering.
Narine remains very busy. In addition to being the General Secretary of GAWU, he is also a director of the New Building Society, the Guyana Fisheries Limited and the Guyana Water Inc. He also serves as the Treasurer of GAWU’s credit union and that of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana.
He was also called to sit on a key body that advised the Labour Minister on issues of occupational health and safety. He dabbles in human resource management, a pet subject that he loves.
A few years ago, he was elected as President of the Caribbean Region of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, and was part of the team that represented Guyana in negotiations with the European Commission on sugar.
He has travelled all over the world, including China and Ghana, on trade unions issues.
“Dr. Jagan once told me that young people should get qualified as it is the only way people will recognize you. Work…work hard and look to the future. Life is what you make it. If you want to be successful, grasp the opportunities and moments available. They may never come again.”
This year is significant for the trade unionist.
“It will be 30 years for me in GAWU and it is also my fiftieth birthday.”
Seepaul Narine is duly recognised this week as a ‘Special Person’ for his contributions to Guyana.

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