The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has long been accused of using the sugar industry as a political weapon, particularly when in opposition, through actions such as strikes, destruction of equipment and machinery, and the burning of young sugarcane fields. Yet, PPP General Secretary and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has consistently attacked the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) for bringing the sugar industry to its knees.
A 2021 study commissioned by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and conducted by Dr. Thomas Singh, revealed stark job loss statistics: 325 workers were laid off under the People’s National Congress (PNC) government (1976–1992), 11,154 workers under PPP/C administrations (1992–2015), and 5,160 workers under the A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition government (2015–2020). Most of the layoffs under the PPP/C occurred during the presidency of Bharrat Jagdeo.
More sugar workers lost jobs under PPP/C than all other governments combined
According to the study, when the PPP/C assumed office in October 1992, GuySuCo employed 28,081 workers. By the time the PPP/C left office in May 2015, this number had plummeted to 16,927, including 15,387 field and factory workers. This represented a massive reduction of 11,154 jobs. Despite this record, the PPP/C has frequently criticised the PNC and APNU+AFC governments for the sugar industry’s struggles while deflecting responsibility for its own role in the decline.
Guyana now operates only three sugar estates a stark contrast to its former capacity. The estates are Blairmont, West Bank Berbice; Albion-Rose Hall, East Berbice; Uitvlugt-Wales, West Bank Demerara
Former Minister of Finance Winston Jordan recently appeared on Norman Brown’s ‘Voice of the Diaspora’ programme to discuss the challenges faced by the coalition government in managing the sugar industry. He noted that the current Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, possesses the ILO study, which details the layoffs during the APNU+AFC tenure, but the PPP/C consistently inflates the number of affected workers, claiming 7,000 instead of the reported 5,160.
Jordan highlighted the coalition’s struggles to pay $5.6 billion in severance to laid-off sugar workers, emphasising the financial constraints the government faced in 2015 compared to the oil revenue available today. He noted that GuySuCo is an legal entity within its own right, and it was GuySuCo’s responsibility to make the severance payout.
However, the cash strapped corporation didn’t have the money, and the responsibility fell upon the Government, as the sole shareholder, to pay the severance. He said the coalition government had to scramble to find the money. The former minister contrasted the situation in Guyana with similar situations in Trinidad and Barbados, where severance payments were delayed for years.
PPP/C made “life a living hell” for the coalition
Jordan pointed out that Guyana’s challenges with severance payments for sugar workers were not unique. He cited examples from other Caribbean nations, such as Trinidad and Barbados, where workers received their severance payments years after being terminated.
However, the PPP/C insisted on immediate payment for severed workers in Guyana, even though the coalition government faced significant financial constraints. Jordan noted that despite these challenges, the coalition managed to pay severance within a reasonable timeframe.
He also recalled a 2016 trip to St. Kitts and Nevis for an IMF meeting during his tenure as finance minister. Upon leaving, he observed heightened security at the airport and inquired about the situation. He was informed that the president of Venezuela was visiting to provide financial assistance to the St. Kitts and Nevis government, enabling them to pay severance to sugar workers who had been laid off years earlier. This, Jordan said, highlighted that delays in severance payments were not uncommon in the region, as many governments struggled with limited resources.
According to Jordan, the PPP/C made “life a living hell” for the coalition government to get the three estates up and running, and created a hostile political environment that deterred potential investors from acquiring the four defunct sugar estates. Jordan claimed that the coalition had lined up buyers to revitalise these estates, but threats and hostility from the PPP/C derailed the privatisation process, further hampering efforts to stabilise the industry.
The sugar industry remains a critical yet deeply politicised sector in Guyana, emblematic of broader struggles over economic management and political accountability.
Read the full ILO Report here:-
https://www.ilo.org/caribbean/information-resources/publications/WCMS_800352/lang–en/index.htm
