Dear Editor,
The most crucial point in this debate on sugar workers severance pay is that no discussion was held in the National Assembly to find out where this money is coming from to pay severance to the sugar workers, who were left in limbo for more than a year.
Without any hesitation one welcomes the announcement to pay off the Diamond sugar workers. The workers had to force their trade union, GAWU, to take some action following the setting up of the Diamond-GAWU Action Committee. I and Norris Witter, now President of the Guyana Trade Union Congress helped to form this group, contrary to advice from a certain political party to set up a breakaway union. We advised against taking the matter to the courts, but that is exactly what GAWU did – and created further frustration among the workers.
This hurried announcement by President Bharrat Jagdeo tells the whole story about the total disregard for established procedures and the rule of law. Dr Jagan would have called this action ‘squandermania’ during the Burnham era. Our problem here is that the official opposition parties in Parliament are the last to comment on these matters, despite the access to so many news outlets to get their messages across. I hope that they can seek an emergency motion to discuss this matter at today’s sitting. I have lost faith in those who sit in that rubber-stamp institution which is passed off as a talk shop.
Mr Corbin will be recorded as the worst opposition leader this country has ever had, and his reasons for acting in this way may have to do with the supposed secret deals he is alleged to have made with Jagdeo. What other reasons could one advance to understand his sluggishness and impotence?
In the upcoming elections, the electorate must examine the ability, physical and mental health, and the all encompassing level of education of the respective individuals who are going to put themselves up for important leadership positions, Members of Parliament included.
All Guyanese are aware that the sugar industry has been in perpetual crisis and it will continue to be like that until the Board of Directors is elected by the sugar workers (field and office workers), which means that they will have total control of the day-to-day management of the industry. GAWU must make this one of their demands and campaign for it, now, not tomorrow. It would mean that the workers would have a direct hand in setting the targets for production and productivity and it would not be left to the General Secretary of the PPP and Mr Jagdeo and his cohorts.
There must be a direct separation of the workers’ organisation and the political parties; that is the only way we are going to develop genuine industrial democracy and the effective functioning of the industry. Both the PNC and the PPP are guilty of this political culture of control. We need new forms of politics where people will be educated and trained to directly manage their enterprises and their lives.
The rice industry suffers the same setbacks. It is totally controlled by the PPP; rice farmers have no direct say in the running of the industry. The failure of the PNC not to transform the industry – to form co-operatives and allow the rice farmers to control the silos and factories was a huge mistake which must be corrected when the new people’s government comes to power.
Yours faithfully,
M Jinnah Rahman
