CombatIssue#5Volume#: 35 Voice of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) September/October, 2014

COMBAT: September/October, 2014 Page One

Production of 219,045 tonnes sugar illusive

The second crop sugar production target of 139,050 tonnes this year is undoubtedly illusive. As at October 31, 2014, the targeted production should have been 132,306 tonnes sugar, however, but was merely 97,335 tonnes, which represents a shortfall of 41,715 tonnes, or about 26 per cent behind. Accepting that the present favourable weather for reap-ing cane holds, field workers generally resent working beyond the eve of the Christmas week, and thus there are about seven (7) possible weeks remaining in the crop as from the beginning of November, 2014. Will the sev-en (7) grinding estates be able to produce 41,715 tonnes sugar in this period? There is also the question of the available cane remaining for harvest. By mid-November, 2014, Wales estate will end its crop not realizing its tar-get of 12,195 tonnes. Uitvlugt estate has embarked upon reaping some hectares of next crop canes and should at-tain its measly target of 7,587 tonnes sugar. The under-performance of the industry relates to the

non-availability of enough reapable and quality cane. Sucrose content in cane continues to decline and cane yields are extremely low. These are the main causes for extremely low tonne sugar per hectare of land. The Cor-poration is not managing to address the various agro-nomic issues which keep bedevilling productivity and sugar production over the years. This is the crux of the issue. Poor soil tillage, inadequate and untimely application of fertilizer to young and growing cane, uncontrolled weeds and vines between growing cane, improper drainage within the cane fields, water logging around cane stools, failure to adopt new high sucrose varieties, inadequate serviceable cane punts and bridges are all impacting on the industry which, according to its pre-sent potential, can produce about 400,000 tonnes sugar – a goal which the Corporation a few years ago declared it would have achieved last year (2013).Continued on back page

Wales Estate will end its crop in mid-November not being able to realise its 12,195-tonne sugar target

Taking Stock – Community and Nation Swiftly, another year of this decade is hurtling to an end. At personal, community and national levels one is sometimes challenged to assess, or “take stock” of the situation with respect to resolutions kept, targets and projects achieved or completed, and to accurately meas-ure the status of plans, programmes or projections con-templated at the start of the year. So swiftly do the days go by.

The editorial team of Combat has endeavoured to apply journalistic standards consistently, even as we under-stand the role of this journal to be the voice and advo-cate of members of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) first and foremost. Since, how-ever, even GAWU, the largest bargaining agent in these parts, is not an island unto itself, and recognizing that all governmental, parliamentary and national events impact upon the lives of its members, both GAWU and Combat must consider the entire national context in which we find ourselves at this juncture of 2014.

Government, Politics and living in 2014

Political action threw up a government in 2011. Con-stitutional guarantees ensured a PPP/C administration even though it has one (1) seat less than the combined Opposition Parties in the National Assembly. In the US such happenings are usual. President Obama’s Demo-cratic Party hasn’t a majority in the House of Representa-tives, and the party’s majority in the Senate is threatened at the mid-term elections. The constitution guarantees, however, the functioning of the President and his Gov-ernment.

Taking stock of that situation, Combat can only con-clude that our Parliament has been made a scrutineer and protagonist of national negativity. Crucial bills – from national estimates to money laundering legislation – have fallen victim to Opposition unrelated demands. Rancor and disagreement have ultimately led to a threat-ened strategic no-confidence motion intended to give the opposition certain levels of political leverage. This is being written a few days before the National Assem-bly expected to reconvene in October, 2014. It is left to be seen whether the Guyanese electorate will be thrust into pre-mature elections, thus shortening the full term granted to the incumbent PPP/C.

continued on page two

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Workers demand retroactive payments

Following the approval on September 26, 2014 of a wage/salary agreement be-tween the Guyana Agricultural and Gen-eral Workers Union (GAWU) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (GuySu-Co), allowing for a four (4) per cent rise in wages and salaries retroactive to Janu-ary 01, 2014, approximately 17,000 field and factory workers in the sugar industry are eager to receive their retroactive pay-ments. The new rates of pay reflective of the four (4) per cent increase have been implemented with effect from October 05, 2014. However, the retroactive pay-ment due from January 01 to October 04, 2014 is outstanding. The Corporation is bedevilled by low prices for its sugar export. Last year it re-

ceived about US$715 per tonne of sugar it sold to the European Union (EU), the price this year hovers between US$350 and US$450 per tonne depending upon the shipment period. The Corporation’s cane yield this year is also dismal, despite excellent weather conditions for favourable sucrose con-tent. It is taking an average of nearly 13.5 tonnes of cane to produce a tonne of sug-ar (tc/ts) rather than about 11 tc/ts. The industry is also seeking desperately to achieve the year’s production target of 219,045 tonnes. At the end of October, 2014, it is yet to produce 41,721 tonnes of sugar. From all appearances, the target will be difficult to achieve.

GAWU and GuySuCo at negotiations

GuySuCo needs to carefully use its scarce resources

The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (GuySuCo) needs to carefully develop its design for its various projects. There is a crossing bridge which had been con-structed in the cultivation of Skeldon Estate in the Manarabisi area a few years ago. The deck of the bridge is not high enough to allow fully laden cane punts to pass under. The bridge provides passage for canes reaped from about 500 hectares of the estate’s cultivation. Fully laden cane punts allow maximum utilization of the cane punts, but fully loaded punts cannot pass under the bridge loss of some of the

cane stalks, which are being shoved off the punts into the canal by the obstruct-ing bridge deck.

The Estate has now decided to adjust the bridge deck higher at a significant cost. This could have been avoided had the bridge design not been faulty in the first place. The Corporation must stop dispos-ing of its scarce financial resources in an irresponsible way.

Yours truly,Jaipaul Singh

TOP: the crossing bridge whose deck is to be demolished, BELOW: some of the canes which have been shoved off punts

Taking Stock – Community and Nation

continued from page one

Spare a moment to “take stock” of what elections would mean: distraction from governance to promote national develop-ment; re-direction of resources – time, security forces, potential investments – from nation-building to electoral activity, with its uncertainties. Combat, as a responsible journal, ap-preciates constitutional provisions, but regrets that there are those bent on using them to disrupt progress for personal po-litical agendas. GAWU, up to October, 2014, can point to its achievements on behalf of its mem-bers. These include signing of agreements with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), among other employers; the expansion of our membership to a new bargaining unit; continued educational work at our College, to name a few. GAWU has shared its views robustly

with respect to the greatest bugbear the sugar sector has had to endure – the Skel-don factory. GAWU has pointed the way for the new GuySuCo Board to take. And Combat will maintain a constant spot-light in that regard. It seems most reasonable to feel that there will either be national and regional elections or local government elections, or both next year. We hope that our na-tional observances of Diwali, Christmas, even Mashramani will assist our people to concentrate on the peace and harmony of the nation, amidst which development can continue. Political leaders and pretenders may have their agenda. Our people – includ-ing thousands of GAWU members – merely wish for continued employment, peace, security and personal well-being. Our children deserve no less. Combat will conclude our 2014 taking stock next edition.

“Capitalist barbarism, crisis and Imperialist wars, or socialism”

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GAWU pays tribute to Cde Navin

On Tuesday, October 28, 2014, after a period of illness, Comrade Navin Chan-darpal departed our ranks. The workers lost a friend and a champion; for the pro-gressive forces, a place among their front-line activists has now become vacant. The grief at his loss will be felt not only by his family, relatives and friends, but also by many of his comrades-in-arms who shared with him many struggles for bet-terment and a prosperous future for Guy-ana. Cde Navin was a product of his times. One thing that stands out for him is that while many of his peers shied away from the demanding struggles that enveloped Guyana in his lifetime, Cde Navin chose the path of engagement and struggle. He left a memorable record of personal in-volvement, a record worthy of emulation. His life’s record also shows that he was a comrade with multi-dimensional inter-ests, which ranged from being a graduate in physics to a youth leader, to a Govern-ment Minister, and lots of other respon-sibilities in between these. Cde Navin had that rare attribute of being equally at ease in an intellectual environment as with the “grass roots” which his many pursuits would often require him to do. Comrade Navin had a long relationship with our Union, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), going back to around the 1980s, when he served as a lecturer on various topics at classes organized by our Union. We re-call he had also taken part in the educa-tion programmes sponsored by the Guy-ana Public Service Union, the Critchlow Labour College, and the Federation of

Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG). In recent years, Cde Navin drew closer to our Union and the work-ers’ cause when he accepted an offer to be Principal of our Union’s Labour College. He served in this capacity from 2010 to 2011, but continued to offer his services to the College, even after he took on du-ties at the level of the state. During this period, though brief, he played an impor-tant role in assisting to establish a cur-riculum for the College and proved to be an adept educator, a quality attested to by the hundreds who took part in his classes and workshops. Cde Navin recognized the important role of education as an effective invest-ment through which workers would en-hance their skills that would serve them well in their day-to-day work-life, and which, at the same time, would serve to raise their awareness of world develop-ments and current trends and issues. But Navin’s links with the Union were by no means limited to our classroom. More importantly is his abiding interaction with workers, their interests and con-cerns, and he even on occasions partici-pated, in several practical Union activi-ties and demonstrations. Many of his peers will remember Navin as a steadfast believer in, and a consist-ent advocate of, the Marxist-Leninist theory, which speaks to the liberation of the working-class from the shackles of exploitation. This working people’s connection con-firmed on one hand, and strengthened on the other, a world view which saw a so-cialist future even moreso today in view

of the deep and prolonged crisis which the capitalist system has found itself in, and which has brought on great hard-ships on the workers. While we, from the Union, have fond and cherished recollections of Cde Navin’s association with us, I believe his better contribution could be found in his social and political activism. Navin grew up and matured in an envi-ronment when the struggle for freedom had entered its final stage and when, soon after ‘Independence’ was given, the PPP found itself at the head of a nation-wide struggle for democracy. Clearly, Navin was one of the many of our young people who were moved to joining the struggles that were going on in our times. Navin became active in the PYO, the or-ganization in which we first met. This was decades ago, and we were then youths driven and motivated by the ideals of freedom and democracy for our coun-try. Cde Navin in his youth and student days became President of the University of Guyana Students Society, and later was catapulted to the position of First Secre-tary of the Progressive Youth Organisa-tion (PYO). Significantly, it was during this time - as Navin reminded us in a recent Mirror ar-ticle - that the PYO-UG group and Uni-versity of Guyana Student Society took up very actively the case of Dr Walter Rodney who was seeking employment at that institution. From here on, fate and life by demands combined to chart a course of a political future for Navin. And his endearing de-meanor helped him overcome the several

challenges that any serious politician must inevitably face. Politically, over the years, Cde Navin was elected repeatedly to the higher echelons of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), positions he deserved for his activism and politi-cal astuteness – the qualities he richly displayed in his calling and work. After the elections of ’92, Cde Navin was called to serve in several areas of our country’s life, as a Minister of Government, as an advisor to the President, and on various boards and committees. His preference, it

would appear, was his work and interest in environment and sustainable develop-ment, fields to which, I am sure, he had much more contributions to make. Today, as we pay our respects to an out-standing colleague and comrade, to a friend of the working-people, Cde Navin, one can say without contradiction, that he has discharged his responsibility to the country and to his Party admirably and with commitment. For us, we hold the view that we must not allow such a sterling contribution to be discontinued because Navin is no more physically with us. Indeed, let us cherish such rich mem-ories let us continue along the trail he would have helped clear in his lifetime, a trial blazed by the indomitable leader Cheddi Jagan. On behalf of the General Council and the wider membership of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), and on my own behalf, I wish to convey our condolences and deepest sympathies to Navin’s family, Cde In-dra his spouse; his children, Rabin and Geetajali; also to his other relatives and friends. With Cde Navin’s departure, our coun-try has lost an outstanding son. He served in different capacities, and served with distinction. He will be missed very much by the people and by his comrades he worked with; as well as by the people he befriended.

Cde Navin, the GAWU salutes you. May you rest in peace.

by Cde Komal Chand, President

LEFT: Cde Navin at the opening of the GAWU Labour College in March, 2010, RIGHT: Cde Navin presenting a certificate to a partcipant at the conclusion of a course

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Oxfam to G20: Take Action on Global Extreme InequalityAs wealth gap widens even in rich countries, aid agency calls on G20 leaders to address crisis

by Nadia Prupis Ignoring rising inequality around the world risks trapping millions in poverty and stunting economic growth, Oxfam said on Tuesday. In a report released before the upcoming G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, the aid agency called on world leaders to ad-dress the crisis by investing in public ser-vices and cracking down on tax havens for wealthy corporations, which costs poor countries $100 billion annually. Reducing income inequality could lift millions out of poverty in developing countries like Kenya, India, and Indone-sia, according to the report, titled Turn the Tide: The G20 Must Act on Rising Inequality, Starting With Fairer Global Tax Reform “Inequality hinders growth, corrupts politics, stifles opportunity and

fuels instability,” it states. In the last year, total wealth in the G20 has increased by $17 trillion, but 36 per-cent of it—$6.2 trillion—belongs to the richest one percent of people on the plan-et, Oxfam said. Even as wealthy countries gather more and more wealth, over half of the world’s poor live in G20 coun-tries—those considered to be economic global leaders. Those nations have pledged to raise the level of their output by at least two per-cent above the current five-year level pro-jection, but Oxfam Australia chief Helen Szoke told Agence France Presse that promises of economic jump-starts and job creation are meaningless without “in-clusive growth”—economic activity that benefits every sector of society. “The widening gap between rich and

poor is increasing... so inequality is be-coming more pronounced,” Szoke said. “Inequality in and of itself is problem-atic for those people who are left behind, but we also know that you can’t actually achieve growth unless you address this is-sue of inequality.” According to the report, “if G20 coun-tries do not move to strategies that pro-mote inclusive growth, there is grow-ing evidence that they risk damaging the prospects for sustainable economic growth, not to mention ignoring the in-justice of social and economic inequality.” One current example of the conse-quences of wealth inequality: is the Ebola crisis. Without a stable health infrastruc-ture, countries in West Africa are unable to stop the virus from spreading rap-idly. As Dr. Margaret Chan, head of the

World Health Organization, explained in a speech at a September conference, “The rich get the best care. The poor are left to die... Ebola has been, historically, geographically confined to poor African nations. The R&D incentive is virtually nonexistent. A profit-driven industry does not invest in products for markets that cannot pay.” It is the obligation of wealthy countries to actively fight the crisis, Oxfam says in its report. “As major players on the world economic and political stages, G20 lead-ers have a crucial role to play in the global efforts to combat Ebola in West Africa, both in terms of mobilizing an extraordi-nary outlay of resources, effort and politi-cal will; and, in the longer term, provid-ing greater funding for health systems in some of the world’s poorest countries, to ensure these types of crises cannot take hold again,” it states. “The G20 cannot ignore Ebola, because Ebola is the symbol of what happens when there is stark social and economic inequality, where you don’t have the so-cial protections and public infrastructure to deal with what is a containable disease,” Szoke said. “When Ebola has occurred in other countries, like Uganda, it has been able to be contained.” Closing the inequality gap will also re-quire G20 countries to acknowledge the gender gap, which is intrinsically linked, the report states. Recognizing unpaid care of family members as work and guaranteeing equal political representa-tion and fair living wages in the work-place is “a welcome first step.”

Ebola Virus Deaths Facilitated by Imperialism - WFTU

The World Federation of Trade Unions expresses is concerned over Ebola epi-demic that has struck mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea of West Africa and threatens the entire world has killed

thousands of people and caused panic to millions of others. As high level officials of the World Health Organization confess, the epi-demic has severely expanded over the

last weeks and 70 per cent of the people affected die because of the lack of proper healthcare facilities. This epidemic brings in the forefront in the most tragic way the chronic and deep wounds in the African continent by co-lonialism, by the continuous plundering of the wealth-producing resources and by the high public debts that keep African states and their economies enslaved to the IMF, the World Bank and other such institutions. Crucial and chronic problems facilitat-ing the Ebola epidemic are: poverty, the malnutrition, the lack of basic healthcare infrastructure and social welfare, the lim-ited access to a system of public and free Education and the slums that continue to be a danger to public health. State budget cuts in the funding of pub-lic institutions in the field of research,

pharmaceutical production and health-care in the USA and the European Union are aggravating the problems. It is very clear, as in the case of Ebola, that as long as research, production and healthcare are influenced by profits people will be suffering from diseases that should have long been eradicated or adequately con-trolled. Furthermore, in complete contrast to the the USA and Britain which have ceased the opportunity to send new troops in Africa, the WFTU feels the need to con-gratulate the heroic decision of the Cuban Government and the Cuban people to show in the most humanitarian way their solidarity to the people of Africa by send-ing a large group of doctors and medical personnel in order to assist in the efforts for the relief of the Ebola patients.

Cuban medical personnel about to leave to Africa to treat Ebola patients

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Kiev escalates war in eastern Ukraine

By Christoph Dreier

In recent times, fiercest fighting in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Luhansk have been occurring since the signing of a ceasefire agreement at the beginning of September. The military offensive by the Kiev regime is being ac-companied by stepped-up threats against Russia by NATO countries. Eyewitnesses reported heavy artillery fire from areas controlled by Kiev forces as well as separatist positions. Donetsk Airport was the scene of bloody battles. The Minsk Agreement had ceded the air-port to the separatists, however, soldiers loyal to Kiev refused to withdraw and are daily engaged in heavy fighting with the rebels. According to the separatists, Ukrain-ian army tanks are advancing towards Donetsk. Two tanks were reportedly de-stroyed by rebels in an attack on the vil-lage of Nikichino. Separatist forces accused the Ukrain-ian army of bombing residential areas and using incendiary devices. In a report, Human Rights Watch confirmed the use of such bombs in previous fighting in the Donetsk region. Many civilians have fallen victim to the attacks. In the last week, two teenagers were killed in the shelling of a school. Ac-cording to the rebels, at least twelve civil-ians were killed in an attack on the village

of Frunze near Luhansk. The Kiev regime and its supporters in Washington accuse Russia of send-ing tanks and other military equipment across the border to strengthen the sepa-ratist organizations. Various correspond-ents have reported troop movements in the Donetsk area.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which has a team of observers in the region, re-ported that two convoys of 40 trucks and nine tanks had moved eastward in the Donbass region. The origin of the vehi-cles and the contents of the trucks are unknown. The vice-commander of the rebels, Eduard Basurin, said the convoy involved units of the people’s militia that had been established to defend Donetsk against Ukrainian government attacks. The official spokesperson for the US State Department, Jen Psaki, said that “Russia and the people’s militia it supported” had “constantly” broken the Minsk Agree-ment. Secretary of State John Kerry had threatened Russia with new sanctions on Saturday following talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. The European Union foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called the troop movements a “very worrying de-velopment.” She urged Russia to show restraint and deescalate the situation. She demanded that Moscow block sol-

diers, weapons and fighters from entering Ukraine from Russian territory. Soon, the 28 EU foreign ministers are meeting to decide on new sanctions against Russia. “The debate will revolve around not only the tightening of sanc-tions, but especially around how we can assist Ukraine in these difficult times,” said Mogherini. German Chancellor Angela Merkel an-nounced a possible expansion of the list of people who will be subject to sanc-tions. British Prime Minister David Cameron accused Russia of not abiding by inter-national rules. If Russia “continues on its current path, we will keep upping the pressure, and Russia’s relationship with the rest of the world will be radically dif-ferent in the future,” Cameron said. US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met briefly on the periphery of the Asia-Pacif-ic Economic Summit (APEC) in Beijing. In addition to Ukraine, they discussed Iran’s nuclear program. No official report on their discussion has been released. It is expected that the two leaders will meet again next weekend at the G20 summit in Australia. A report was released listing 40 recent military confrontations between Rus-sia and NATO that could have sparked a war. Last week, German NATO General Hans-Lothar Domröse announced that

the alliance would proceed more aggres-sively against Russia. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the Minsk ceasefire agreement af-ter Ukrainian government forces fighting separatists in the east had suffered major defeats. The Kiev regime hopes to use the truce to buy time to stabilize its rule and reorganize its army. But the regime has violated the agree-ment at least as often as the rebels. Its forces have refused to vacate other po-sitions besides the Donetsk airport as stipulated in the Minsk deal. They have, moreover, repeatedly shelled Donetsk and Luhansk. Autonomy rights have also been with-held from eastern Ukraine. Although the Ukrainian Parliament passed the relevant law, Parliamentary Speaker Alexander Turchinov refused to sign it or pass it on to the president. After the separatists held their own elections a week ago in eastern Ukraine, Turchinov declared the autono-my law to be void. A law purging the public sector and civil service that was passed before parliamen-tary elections held by the Kiev regime in October is being used to bring the state apparatus into line. Numerous posts that were previously occupied by people criti-cal of the government are being handed over to the extreme right-wing forces that played a critical role in the coup that overthrew pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych last February.

Juri Michaltschisin, who founded the Joseph Goebbels Institute in 2005, is re-ported to be the new head of the depart-ment of “propaganda and analysis” of the Ukrainian secret service, the SBU. Neo-Nazi Vadim Troyan was appointed Kiev police chief by the Interior Ministry. Right-wing battalions of the National Guard, which are funded by various oli-garchs and play a crucial role in the civil war, sought to intervene more directly into politics by running representatives in the parliamentary elections. Although the openly fascist parties received rela-tively few votes, the major parties co-opt-ed numerous right-wing extremists onto their slates. One prominent representa-tive is Yuri Bereza, leader of the notorious Dnepr Battalion, which is responsible for numerous human rights violations.Bereza was elected to Parliament on the slate of the current prime minister, Ar-seniy Yatsenyuk. As a new member of the largest parliamentary group, he an-nounced shortly after the election, that his battalion would be prepared to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia. Based on such forces, and with the backing of Washington, Berlin and NATO, Kiev is preparing to renew its military offensive in the east.

A Ukrainian outside the rubble of his home, destroyed during recent clashes between Ukrainian separatist forces in Ilovaysk

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GAWU hosts WFTU Latin America and Caribbean head

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) hosted Cde Ramon Cardona, head of the World Fed-eration of Trade Unions (WFTU) Latin America & the Caribbean Regional Of-fice, which is based in Havana, Cuba.

Cde Cardona visited Guyana from Oc-tober 20 to 21, 2014. His visit preceded similar visits to the Caribbean territories of Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Gre-nada, Barbados and Jamaica.

During the two (2) day visit, Cde Car-dona met with members of the leadership of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Fed-eration of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG). He also met with Min-ister of Labour, Dr Nanda Gopaul.

The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) was established in the wake of the Second World War, after the defeat of Hitlerite fascism and at the foundation of the United Nations in June, 1945. It was formed to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international trade union organization. Many del-egations of trade unions from different countries, including Guyana, attended the first Congress of the World Federa-tion of Trade Unions held in Paris from 3rd to 8th October, 1945. However, there was a split in this body with the creation

of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 1949, one of the consequences of the advent of the Cold War.

The WFTU has a membership of 129 million persons and affiliates in 130 countries. Our Union’s President, Cde Komal Chand is currently a member of the presidential council of this organisa-tion.

GAWU has been an affiliate of this body for decades, and has received much sup-port and solidarity in its struggles dur-ing this time. Notably, assistance was received when the Union was briefly derecognized by the Guyana Sugar Cor-poration Inc (Guysuco) in 1987. And also when the Union was engaged in protests against the implementation of the harsh and stringent measures of the IMF and World Bank, facilitated by the then Gov-ernment around this period. For WFTU, solidarity has always been one if its pillars ever since it was founded.

The GAWU was pleased to host the WFTU representative, Cde Ramon Car-dona, to Guyana. The GAWU is certain that his visit and his discussions with sev-eral labour leaders and activists will be fruitful and prove to be mutually benefi-cial in the near future.

FITUG concerned over intrusion of privacy in our society

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has been fol-lowing, in a general way, the public ex-pressions which have stemmed from the taping of a private conversation between the Attorney-General (AG) and a school friend, now working with a newspaper. Much of those views focused on the con-tent of the purported tape; it seemingly is providing a grand opportunity for essen-tially the politically inclined to do some personal bashing.

But those who are hastening to take advantage of this passing turn of events should not be shortsighted, nor should they allow any exultation at this act, obscure to its graver implications. For FITUG, certain concerns have come up.

There is the disgusting and illegal nature of the taping of a private conversation by two (2) persons, in this case school chums. It is scary to know that in our midst are persons who would not hesitate to violate our right to privacy - in this instance, that of our AG. It may be ger-mane to ask: If the Attorney-General of our country can be so easily targeted and illegally taped, who else within the higher echelons of our state apparatus – Gov-ernment and/or security forces – is being targeted at this time?

We find it instructive that the voices shunning intrusion of our privacy are not

as strong as one should expected. It is also a learning experience to hear from quar-ters who consistently justifiably condemn criminal activities in our society but are so silent in the illegal eavesdropping and taping of our AG. Over the generations, many values have evolved that determine our humanity. Respect of privacy is one such, and is a value and human right highly cherished. To feel secure in our world today cannot be limited to protec-tion from physical harm and safeguard-ing of our personal property, but extends to communication with our families, neighbours, friends, workmates, clients, patients, etc. Violation of such private in-teractions undoubtedly becomes a threat to our democratic culture, which is still being consolidated.

As we read in recent times, instances of such type of illegality and surveillance have had their unwanted repercussions and ugly backlash. We are not unaware that the AG episode comes close on the heels of another semi-sensational is-sue pivoted around the Speaker. Clearly, new challenges have emerged in our so-ciety. As a people, we need to take heed of such. Falling standards cannot be left unattended. FITUG holds the view that the hype around the AG at this time really reveals how our right to privacy is being under-mined, and that our democratic thrust as a country can very well be in jeopardy.

Attorney-General Anil NandlallFrom the left: GAWU President, Cde Komal Chand; Minister of Labour, Dr N.K. Gopaul; and WFTU Latin America and Caribbean head, Cde Ramon Cardona

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Arbitration to determine fate of Skeldon worker Stephen Daniel Much interest has been generated in the dismissal, which was later changed to suspension, of mill dock worker, Cde Stephen Daniel of Skeldon Estate aris-ing from his alleged striking of the Estate Manager to his face on the night of Sep-tember 19, 2014. Daniel denied he was engaged in such action. The Manager, it was alleged, was highly intoxicated at the time of the incident, and he was said to have confronted Daniel in an abusive and confrontational manner. As news of Daniel’s discipline reached the hundreds of his fellow field and fac-tory workers, they became incensed and began to take spontaneous strike action in solidarity with Daniel and in denun-ciation of the Manager, whose mental disposition to workers generally is con-

sidered unacceptable. The strike action of the Skeldon work-ers was support by workers of the neigh-bouring Albion and Rose Hall estates. The strike ended on September 24, 2014 after the Ministry of Labour successful-ly guided the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (Guy-SuCo) on the work-resumption terms which paved the way for an end of what is considered a costly strike. The main term which persuaded the end of the strike read as follows:-

“The dismissal of Mr Stephen Daniel will be amended to suspension with-out pay until the end of either con-ciliation or arbitration”

Not only was sugar production ham-pered, but the generation of about 10 – 14 megawatts of electricity per hour to the national grid was affected causing power outages as far as the capital city, George-town. Conciliatory proceedings on September 26 and October 01, 2014 did not resolve the dispute. The conciliator, Chief Labour Officer Cde Charles Ogle, after carefully considering the Union’s and the Corpo-ration’s submissions recommended that Cde Daniel be reinstated and paid for the period he was off the job. The CLO’s recommendation, which had been roundly rejected by the Corpora-tion, was a recommendation on the non-compliance of the Corporation based on

its own Disciplinary Code and Proce-dure. The CLO noted that natural justice to Daniel was denied by the Corporation. The Union and the Corporation, having failed to have the dispute resolved at con-ciliation on October 21, 2014, decided to have the dispute subjected to arbitration. The parties agreed to a sole arbitrator, and he is former Chief Labour Officer Cde Mohamed Akeel. Proceedings of the Tribunal will begin on November 05, 2014. Advocates leading the case of the Union and the Corporation have submit-ted memoranda to the arbitrator, and are ready to commence the hearing. At the conclusion, the arbitrator is to make an award as he deems fit, with which both the Corporation and the Union are to abide.

FITUG at ILO fora in Peru and Antigua

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) hosted its 18th American Regional Meeting in Lima, Peru from October 13 – 16, 2014. The meeting set out and suc-ceeded to establish a policy development document to guide ILO actions over the next four (4) years. Thirty-three (33) countries from Lat-in America, the Caribbean and North America had representatives drawn from Government , Employment, Workers. Guyana was represented by Cdes Charles Ogle of the Ministry of Labour, Samuel Goolsarran of Consultative As-sociation of Guyanese Industry (CAGI), and Narda Mohamed of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG). There were one hundred and eighteen (118) delegates present of whom fifty (55) were Government delegates, 31 Employ-ers’ delegates and 32 Workers’ delegates. Also, in the gathering were sixty five (65) government advisers, thirty (30) employ-ers and fifty-four (54) workers. Thirty-three (33) per cent of the gathering were women, whose numbers are arising at such fora.

The Credentials Committee observed that four (4) delegations contained no women delegates or advisers (Plurina-tional State of Bolivia, Dominica, Hon-duras, and Saint Kitts and Nevis). The Committee recalls that the United Na-tion Economic and Social Council, in its Resolution 1995/15, set a target to in-crease the proportion of women in lead-ership positions to at least 30 per cent by 1995, with a view to achieving equal representation between women and men by the year 2000. The Committee noted with satisfaction that the representation of women exceeded the 30 per cent target established by the Resolution, and called upon the governments and the employ-ers’ and workers’ organizations to strive to increase the representation of women in their delegations at future ILO meet-ings. Apart from the General Meeting which facilitated plenary discussions and in-terventions, there were group meetings which focused on specific matters. The Plenary discussions focused on sus-tainable development and moving from informality to formality, with representa-

tives sharing strategies used in their countries and recommendations aimed at achieving the objectives. There were many sig-nificant contributions and interventions. Some were made on the report of the Director General, entitled “Twen-ty first century challeng-es for the Americas: Full and productive employ-ment and decent work”. There was an interven-tion made by Guyana’s Narda Mohamed on the role of youths to de-crease unemployment. This was included as part of the conclusion docu-ment of the meeting for action by the ILO.

Also, Narda Mohamed was invited to attend a meeting in St. John’s, Antigua, from October 27 – 29, 2014 to focus on Sustainable Development. The meeting was held at the GARD Cen-tre, Mercers Creek. It was the 7th Annual Caribbean Sustainable Economic Devel-opment meeting hosted by the Carib-bean Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Livelihoods (COESL), aimed at Getting Regionalism Right – Developing the Car-ibbean’s Entrepreneurial Citizens, Rede-fining Sustainable Development in the Caribbean, and Taking Development to the Community. The meeting also received support from the ILO and the GARD Centre. Participating countries were Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat and British Virgin Islands, with an approxi-mate attendance of thirty-four (34) par-ticipants. The participants from Barbados, Guy-ana and one (1) from Antigua represent-

ed the Trade Union movement, while the other participants were current and pro-spective Entrepreneurs. The meeting’s keynote speaker was the Minister of Social Transformation & Human Resource Development, Ms Sa-mantha Marshall, who also declared the meeting open.

Ms. Roberta Williams of the GARD Centre and Ms. Marcia Brandon of the COESL facilitated the three (3) day ses-sions. Ms. Brandon also did the launch-ing of the Caribbean Entrepreneurship Week 2014. The meeting consisted of group work sessions, plenary discussions, and field visits to a Craft Market, the Ministry of Agriculture and a Farm. A Trade Show was also promoted as part of the activi-ties, which saw about seven (7) Entrepre-neurs exhibiting their business ventures. The Guyana representative was selected as a judge for the Trade Show along with the representatives of British Virgin Is-lands and Trinidad. She was also the pre-senter on the ‘findings and recommenda-tions’ from the Craft Market visit. During the deliberations, there was transfer of knowledge, exploration of relevant ideas, and the development of action plans for deepening and strength-ening working relationships and partner-ships amongst the Caribbean Region. At the conclusion of the meeting, there was an award ceremony for best perform-ers at the Trade Show, and the launching of some reading materials developed by the COESL. Coming out from this meeting, it is in-tended for a paper to be produced for publication based on results generated from the field research, to examine conti-nuity measures to ensure that the work of participating partners attending the Con-ference is placed within the context of Sustainable Development’s agenda, and continue to evaluate the impact that each partner’s mandate is having on regional development in a sustainable way.

From the left Cdes Samuel Goolsarran, Charles Ogle and Narda Mohamed

COMBAT is a publication of the Guyana Agricultural & General Workers Union (GAWU)59 High Street & Wights Lane, Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana, S.A.Tel: 592-227-2091/2; 225-5321 , 223-6523 Fax: 592-227-2093

Email: gawu@bbgy.com Website: www.gawu.net

In observance of this year’s World Fed-eration of Trade Unions (WFTU) Inter-national Day of Action, members of the Federation of Independent Trade Un-ions of Guyana (FITUG) affiliates – the Guyana Agricultural and General Work-ers Union (GAWU), the Guyana Labour Union (GLU), the Clerical and Com-mercial Workers Union (CCWU); and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) – participated in a spirited march on October 01, 2014 from the Bank of Guyana to the GAWU Head-quarters, High Street, Kingston. At the conclusion of the march, a forum was held. Attendees heard addresses from the Organisation’s Second Vice President, Cde Sherwood Clarke; its General Secre-tary, Cde Kenneth Joseph; its Treasurer, Cde Seepaul Narine, and its President, Cde Carvil Duncan. The Minister of La-bour, Dr N.K. Gopaul, also addressed the gathering. A message of solidarity from the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) was also read at the forum. Affiliated unions of the World Federa-tion of Trade Unions (WFTU) in about 120 countries, under the theme: “Unem-ployment: End unemployment! Organize and fight for dignified work and life!” will also organize various forms of activities like demonstrations, picketing exercises, protests, etc to observe this important day in their countries.

Action Day 2014 finds the global work-ing people worldwide facing continuing hardships. The capitalist governments and the financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank have not found an “exit from the crisis” the world has been experiencing for years now. The recipe proffered as solutions by the devel-oped countries is the same:- cuts in pay, pension cuts, austerity, drastic reduction of social rights and amenities, unem-ployment, etc. The burden of the crisis is clearly, is placed squarely on the backs of the working class to fetch. A perspective of the sad situation related to employment and poverty globally can be gleaned in the 2014 ILO Global Em-ployment Trends report. In it, we get the following statistical picture:-

• The number of unemployed world-wide rose by 5 million in 2013 to al-most 202 million, a 6 per cent unem-ployment rate.

• Some 23 million workers have dropped out of the labour market

• The number of jobseekers is expect-ed to rise by more than 13 million by 2018

• Around 839 million workers lived with their families on less than US$2 per day in 2013

• Some 375 million workers lived with their families on less than $1.25 a day in 2013

At the same time, we have learnt that the world’s 85 wealthiest people hold as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion, or half the world population. We live in a world where equality of opportunity for a significant section of its population is fast becoming just a dream. Against that background, the FITUG joins with the WFTU-affiliated trade un-ions to focus attention on the plight of tens of millions of our planet’s citizens who suffer from being jobless. FITUG recognizes and supports a revitalized struggle by the working people around the question of unemployment. We be-lieve employment is an indispensable

condition for a worker to lead and en-joy a life of dignity. Simultaneously, we are quite aware that unemployment is a phenomenon inherent in the capitalist system, and eradication of this scourge necessitates profound changes of the pre-vailing profit driven socio-economic sys-tem. The FITUG stands for stable and steady work and decent wages for all. A just and peaceful future cannot be based on ex-ploitation and growing unemployment. Capitalist norms as we are seeing can no longer effectively address today’s prob-lems faced by the masses the world over.

FITUG observes WFTU Action Day

Production of 219,045 tonnes sugar illusive Continued from page oneTo escape objective scrutiny, the Corpo-ration, year after year, proffers publicly and unapologetically distorted excuses for its dismal performances. Noteworthy among the perpetual excuses are poor turn-out of cane cutters, strikes and cli-mate change. Work stoppage statistics will convinc-ingly indicate that there were work stop-pages nowadays in comparison to when the industry’s production was at ac-ceptable levels in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In those years, average production was 319,587 tonnes. The unscientific pricing

of workers’ tasks in the cane fields is the main reason for field work stoppages. With the presence of bell loaders or semi-mechanical harvesters available to aid cane harvesting for some years now, the present available cane-cutting workforce is adequate to harvest the canes. In some weeks, the present workforce configura-tion enables sugar production to reach close to 9,000 tonnes of sugar earlier in the crop. The sugar industry is more than 350 years old and needs an immediate rescue plan lest it continues to sink, to the detri-ment of our country’s economy.

LEFT: Attendees to the International Action Day forum; RIGHT: Minister of Labour, Dr N.K. Gopaul addressing the gathering