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16 protesting sugar workers, four others arrested
…to be slapped with four charges
Kaieteur News – Sixteen cane harvesters attached to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) and four other persons are to be slapped with four charges each after they blocked the ‘Canje Turn’ with an electrical pole and attempted to burn obstacles during their weeklong strike on Monday.
The protestors are demanding that severance be paid to them before they return to the Rose Hall Estate when it reopens sometime this month.
The blocking of the road resulted in traffic being at a standstill for a prolonged period. This forced police to be called out in their numbers to secure the area and remove the debris.
The police protected by their shields and batons, were seen trying to remove the protestors from the road to have the flow of traffic return to a state of normalcy. The move by the police resulted in the protestors retaliating physically. Notwithstanding, the road was eventually cleared and 20 persons, including the 16 estate workers, were arrested and are to be charged.
Some protestors at the back of a police van
Regional Commander, Shivpersaud Bhaccus told reporters that the protest was initially peaceful but subsequently turned into ruckus.
“They also attempted to light a fire on the roadway by way of newspaper…police put out the fire,” the Commander said while noting that the accused will be charged with obstructing the free flow of traffic, damage to property, unlawful assembly, and an act of terrorism.
The sugar workers who were originally stationed at the Rose Hall Sugar Estate and then transferred to the Albion and Blairmont Estates after its closure in 2017 are demanding that the Government of Guyana compensates them for being transferred back to the Rose Hall Estate.
Protestors and police during a standoff on Monday
They have been on strike for a number of weeks.
However, with the reopening of the Rose Hall Estate, those workers who were transferred to the Albion and Blairmont Estates will be returned to Rose Hall Estate to work.
The workers are vehemently objecting and have called on President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo to meet with them over the matter. They said they will not return to the fields unless they are able to discuss their demands with the leaders of the country.
Since the start of their strike in August, none of the two officials have met with the sugar workers.
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