The future and the sugar worker

Oct 01, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

Amid growing concerns about the closing of several sugar estates and what many in the opposition consider to be the government’s disdain for the plight of the sugar workers, several trade unions have put the government on notice that they will fight for the rights of the sugar workers.
They are displeased with the way the government is handling the matter and have vowed not to take it lying down. They have established a score card on Government’s performance with regard to the state of the sugar industry, the economy, job creation, food security and the growing disparity between the haves and the haves-nots in society.
Some have argued that the present development plans do not have an all-inclusive economic, financial and social structure in place to allow for the distribution of wealth in a way that everyone can benefit.
Wealth distribution in Guyana is skewed in such a way that only the wealthy few have benefited immensely, while the poor and the disadvantaged survive because the socio-political system was not underpinned by fairness in the distribution of wealth.
Attempts by one trade union and the sugar workers to convince the government not to close the sugar estates have not succeeded. But the government says that this is necessary. No economic plan involves pouring money into a bottomless pit which is what the Guyana Sugar Corporation had become.
The sugar workers are disappointed with both the government and the opposition because they have made them the scapegoats and pawns of the political system. At the end of the day, these are workers who have families and must support them.
Closing the sugar estates and putting sugar workers on the breadline under normal conditions would destabilize the economy and the country. It could widen the rift between the government and the unions. It could also be the end of the sugar industry at a time when the focus should be on the diversification of the economy in the face of low production and fluctuating commodity prices.
But these are not ordinary times. Most sugar-producing countries have opted out of sugar more so since the price plummeted. And if the truth be told, Guyana should have got out of sugar nearly two decades ago. That was when the price had all but collapsed.
It is the working class who circulate most of the money in the country and not the elites who shop online and outside of the country. Recognizing the value and importance of the working class could improve production, resuscitate the economy, create jobs and reduce food imports.
But in an economy where the main earners are primary products the focus should be on diversification and on value added. The value added from sugar would have been the way to go but the culture was for the primary product so no effort was made to look at doing more with sugar and its by-products.
The dilemma is the absence of skills and a lack of entrepreneurship in the productive sector. When we looked to a canning sector the people found it convenient to merely produce, they could not be bothered to do more work on their production. So the President’s unequivocal declaration that all, regardless of political party affiliation, will be engaged in the development of the country should be a welcomed indication of his government’s policy. However, words without follow-up action are a disguise for failure.
The government must take decisive steps to tackle the problems facing the country, with heightened emphasis on diverting from planting cane to more productive activities. The sugar workers will eventually play a part in this but only when they realize that they need to take their minds off cane.

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