Workers should have a greater say in management, said President Donald Ramotar when he gave the feature address at the opening of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) 20th Delegates Conference at the Inter-national Conference Centre Liliendaal yesterday.
President of GAWU Komal Chand in his address to the delegates said that the key factor in making the sugar industry viable again is maintaining an improved relationship between the workers and the union, and the management of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
The President expanded on the issue of worker-management relations, and told the large audience that management should take into consideration workers’ proposals and suggestions which may benefit the entire body.
“I believe all have a positive role to play in the development of society. Workers and employers must recognize that this calls for full understanding of each other. We need to ensure that we are ready to partner with all classes… to move our country forward. Workers should have a greater say in management. We have to work together to turn the industry around,” he affirmed.
Ramotar had earlier on praised GAWU, with which he was affiliated in his earlier years, for always having the “most class-conscious leaders in this country.” He said that the union occupies a position of prominence because it represents workers who are at the very heart of the economy.
“That is why many industrial disputes very often assume political and national significance,” he continued. “This union has a rich history. GAWU has been on the forefront in the struggle for democracy. The need to allow workers the right to have a union of [their] choice was first raised by this union, then known as the Guiana Industrial Workers Union in the 1940s. That struggle lasted for years before it was eventually secured. It remains the most important piece of labour legislation that promoted industrial democracy in this country,” he averred.
However the head of state warned workers they should recognize the need to reject those who seek to use “industrial issues to promote their own narrow political agenda.”
He said the PPP Government has from its inception, taken “the philosophical position that the most important factor for development is the people.
“We have invested appreciably in our people. This can be seen by any examination of our budget and how resources are allocated. More than 30% of our budget goes to the social sector; education, health, housing, water… all of these have been given priority.”
The President further noted that because of the priority given to these sectors, there is evidence of much personal development among the working class.
“Many working class families have been freed from the oppression of landlords and are bringing up their children in the security of their own homes. We cannot put a value to this, the social benefits that spring from this,” he told his audience.
According the President, life expectancy in Guyana is on the rise as a result of the investment in the education and health sectors, as well as the fact that the economy is doing well.
However, he said, the working class in Guyana is being affected by the lack of unity that is apparent in the movement as a whole. “As long as this division exists, the movement is in danger of weakening. The strength of the workers always lay in the numbers and the unity of the working class,” Ramotar posited.
In his address to the delegates Chand said, “We’ve come a long way to arrive at this 20th Delegates’ Conference, we have travelled a path that is filled with injury, we have scored many victories and had our fair share of disappointments. We positively impacted the sugar industry and certainly our nation’s economic life.”
The GAWU President went on to say that the tendency to move forward must be underlined and economic growth must be reflected in workers’ standard of living.
“With the new composition of parliament… what is going on is not giving us hope for the immediate future. Smooth governance is being affected. Hundreds of workers and jobs are [endangered] because of cuts in the budget. We must also be concerned about the appearance of the political scene where values are compromised due to self interest,” Chand said.
Twenty-two members of the union who had given long and dedicated service were due to be honoured during the first session.
