Government must say how much money was wasted on this protest

Apr 20, 2014 Letters

Dear Editor,
Please allow me a space in your letter column to share some of the recent happenings in the sugar industry for the past seven days here at the Blairmont estate.
As the 2014 national budget was presented to the National Assembly one would have thought that the Government would at least give some increase to workers, especially sugar workers and public servants, but they did not.
All they did was to tell the Guyanese nation was to expect general elections soon, because all the money was put into projects that have trouble in the past and Guysuco is no exception.
While many of the sugar workers were fooled and taken in front of Parliament to protest for Guysuco’s cause, the ministers of the Government, MP Jaffarally and several other persons from PPP echoed the sentiment of don’t let the industry go our family will starve, don’t rob us of bread and butter for our children and lots of other words came to the floor so that Guyana can feel for the workers who are being used by the PPP\C for a bad cause.
As I reflected on that protest dated April 9th, 2014 I am wondering, is Guysuco and the Government serious about the future of the industry? Well, it’s hard to answer because they say something and do something else and many fall for their petty words. Words that have no power and meaning.
Guysuco and the Minister of Agriculture should now tell the Guyana people how much money was wasted on that protest. How many workers were paid for the day and they did not work? What was the turnout and amount of cane harvested on that day? How much did the transportation cost and who paid the trucks that took the workers? How much did the water and buns cost and who paid for it? And after all that tell us the Guyanese people what is the actual amount of money Guysuco lost that day alone?. So we will know if the Government and Guysuco is serious about sugar.
It must be noted that the leadership of Guysuco and GAWU stay away from the sugar workers protest and it tells me another thing, that workers are being used to garner money for an entity that’s failing and paying its bosses super salaries but yet the sugar industry bosses have no time to protest for the ailing industry.
This brings me to a serious thing that is has been taking place for the past seven days. Workers are home for the past week protesting and striking for better wages that Guysuco is paying on opening and bundles. This strike is on at Blairmont estate since last Saturday, and none of the PPP\C HARD TALKING ministers at the protest are protesting with them.
Guysuco has now lost billions because of this strike and no one seems to care.
Workers must now ask themselves as to which side is GAWU on? and we all know the answer, because as workers were protesting for more money for Guysuco, the President of GAWU Komal Chand who is a PPP MP was standing in Parliament yard asking, what is the cause for protest? Mr. Chand will recall the persons he was talking with at that time.
The PPP will continue to use sugar workers because they feel the workers belongs to them and they can do what they want. I call on the Hon. Priya Manickchand, Clement Rohee, Leslie Ramsammy and the other PPP officials that used the workers to come out now and condemn the action of Guysuco and the misrepresentation of Komal Chand and GAWU towards the sugar workers.
Sugar workers are now very sad that they joined in a protest that has no benefit for them and today no one from the PPP seems to care for them. The AFC has continued their fight for the workers and last Saturday night on DTV CH. 8 in Berbice was no exception as a sugar worker spoke out against the exploitation in the industry that workers are being faced with daily.
I call on the leaders of the AFC to continue the struggle for the workers in the sugar industry. Don’t allow the recent abuse by the workers on Mr. Nagamootoo to be of a problem. Many of the workers told me they are sorry because they were misled.
The AFC is the only alternative the workers have and they know that they can count on the AFC.
I call on the AFC to seriously think about challenging GAWU for the rights to represent the sugar workers. In this way we will see better representation for the brothers and sisters in the industry.
Abel Seetaram

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Government must say how much money was wasted on this protest

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