GEORGETOWN, Guyana, July 28, 2026 — The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) has condemned the murder charges brought against three Transport and Harbours Department employees following the July 18 sinking of the MV Barima, describing the prosecution as an attempt to make workers bear responsibility for wider institutional and regulatory failures.
Captain Kevin Price, 40, Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts, 42, and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson, 33, were jointly charged in connection with the maritime tragedy.
In a strongly worded statement issued Monday, the GTUC called for the charges to be withdrawn immediately, arguing that the disaster should be investigated primarily as an occupational safety and health catastrophe rather than treated solely as the result of the actions of three employees.
“The institution of murder charges against Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson is a travesty of justice,” the union body declared.
The GTUC said the prosecution appeared to criminalise workers while leaving unanswered questions about vessel maintenance, regulatory oversight, inspections, management decisions and governmental responsibility.
“Justice cannot be reduced to prosecuting the most vulnerable while those responsible for creating, supervising and maintaining the system escape scrutiny,” the organisation stated.
According to the GTUC, the Government’s public statements have already acknowledged circumstances extending beyond the actions of individual crew members, including allegations that the vessel was overloaded, was carrying cargo and had passed through a deficient inspection and oversight system.
The union body argued that these admissions require an examination of the entire chain of responsibility, from policymakers and regulators to inspectors, managers and those responsible for maintaining and operating the vessel.
The GTUC also pointed to eyewitness allegations that the captain had expressed reluctance to sail because the vessel was reportedly operating on one engine but was nevertheless instructed to proceed.
Those allegations have not been independently established and would require examination during a credible investigation. The GTUC said that, if proven, they would suggest that the accused employees were working within an unsafe system rather than acting with murderous intent.
The organisation cited the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 99:06, in emphasising that employees have a right to a safe workplace and that employers have legal and moral responsibilities to provide safe working conditions.
“Where workers are required to perform duties in conditions they reasonably believe to be unsafe in order to earn a living, the failure cannot be placed solely at their feet,” the statement said.
The GTUC maintained that maritime catastrophes are generally caused by interconnected failures, including neglected maintenance, ignored warnings, unaddressed hazards, ineffective inspections and inadequate operating systems.
“Catastrophic loss of life is rarely the product of one person’s actions; it is most often the consequence of multiple failures across an entire system,” it said.
The organisation also noted that the three accused are survivors of the tragedy who witnessed extensive suffering and loss. It criticised what it described as the absence of a demonstrated commitment to provide them with comprehensive trauma care, psychotherapy and psychosocial support.
“Instead of care and rehabilitation, these workers have been met with prosecution,” the GTUC stated.
The congress expressed solidarity with the three men and their bargaining representative, the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union.
It renewed its call for a genuinely independent Commission of Inquiry, free from partisan political influence, to establish the complete chain of events leading to the sinking.
According to the GTUC, such an inquiry must examine responsibility at every level, including policy, regulation, inspection, maintenance, management and operational decision-making. It should also recommend measures to prevent another maritime disaster.
The organisation called on citizens, workers, trade unions and civil-society organisations to oppose what it described as the scapegoating of workers for systemic failures.
“If workers can be made scapegoats for systemic failures today, no worker will be safe tomorrow,” the statement warned.
GTUC General Secretary Lincoln Lewis said the bereaved families, survivors, accused workers and wider Guyanese public are entitled to the complete truth.
“Let this tragedy expose every failure, wherever it occurred. Let accountability reach every person who bears responsibility. Let justice follow the evidence, not convenience,” Lewis said.
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GTUC Complete Statement is BelowGuyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC)
July 28, 2026
Murder Charges Against MV Barima Workers Are an Assault on Justice
– MV Barima Was an Occupational Safety Failure, Not a Murder Scene
The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) unequivocally condemns the decision to charge three employees of the Transport and Harbours Department with murder arising from the tragic sinking of the MV Barima on July 18, 2026.
The institution of murder charges against Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson is a travesty of justice. It reflects what appears to be an attempt to criminalise workers while the far more fundamental questions of institutional failure, regulatory neglect, managerial responsibility and governmental accountability remain unresolved.
The nation must not permit this injustice to stand.
Justice cannot be reduced to prosecuting the most vulnerable while those responsible for creating, supervising and maintaining the system escape scrutiny. Justice demands truth. Justice demands accountability. Justice demands that responsibility be apportioned where it belongs—not merely where it is politically convenient.
The Government’s own public statements have acknowledged failures that extend well beyond the actions of any individual worker. It has admitted that the vessel was overloaded, that tit had cargo on the vessel, and that failures occurred within the inspection and oversight system. Those admissions alone demand that attention be directed to the entire chain of responsibility rather than focusing exclusively on three workers.
Further, eyewitnesses have alleged that the captain expressed reluctance to sail because the vessel was reportedly operating on only one engine and that he was nevertheless instructed to proceed. Those accounts require thorough, independent examination. If established, they point to workers operating within an unsafe system—not to workers acting with murderous intent.
The GTUC reminds the nation that occupational safety and health is negotiable per the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chp 99:06. Every worker has the right to a safe workplace and every employer has a legal and moral duty to provide one. Where workers are required to perform duties in conditions they reasonably believe to be unsafe in order to earn a living, the failure cannot be placed solely at their feet.
The MV Barima disaster must therefore also be recognised as an occupational safety and health catastrophe.
Accidents do not simply happen—they are caused. They result from hazards left unaddressed, maintenance neglected, inspections that fail, warnings ignored and systems that break down. Catastrophic loss of life is rarely the product of one person’s actions; it is most often the consequence of multiple failures across an entire system.
Yet, instead of confronting those failures, the State appears determined to place the burden of this national tragedy upon three workers.
These men are not only accused persons; they are survivors of one of the worst maritime disasters in Guyana’s history. They witnessed unimaginable suffering and loss and are themselves victims of that traumatic event.
The GTUC is equally disturbed that there has been no demonstrated commitment to providing these workers with comprehensive trauma care, including psychotherapy, psychosocial support and, where clinically necessary, pharmacological treatment. Any responsible employer would recognise that surviving such a catastrophe leaves lasting psychological wounds. Instead of care and rehabilitation, these workers have been met with prosecution.
The GTUC stands in unwavering solidarity with these workers and with their bargaining representative, the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union (ATGWU). We call for the immediate withdrawal of the murder charges.
The GTUC further reiterates its demand for a genuinely independent Commission of Inquiry, free from partisan political influence, to establish the complete chain of events that led to the sinking of the MV Barima, determine responsibility at every level—from policy, regulation and inspection to maintenance, management and operational decision-making—and make recommendations to prevent another national tragedy.
The bereaved families deserve the truth. Survivors deserve the truth. These workers deserve justice. The people of Guyana deserve accountability.
The GTUC therefore calls upon every citizen, every worker, every trade union and every organisation committed to justice and the rule of law not to remain silent in the face of this injustice. If workers can be made scapegoats for systemic failures today, no worker will be safe tomorrow. The integrity of our justice system and the protection of every working person depend upon our collective refusal to accept expediency over truth.
Let this tragedy expose every failure, wherever it occurred. Let accountability reach every person who bears responsibility. Let justice follow the evidence—not convenience. Society demands nothing more, nothing less!
Lincoln Lewis
General Secretary
Contact # 697-1102
