Business people, sugar workers, their union GAWU, PPP supporters and their families protested this morning the possible closure of the Rose Hall Estate.
The protest was by the far the biggest statement made to get GUYSUCO and Government’s attention to the hardship the closure will create on the lives of those who depend on the industry for a living. Some protestors are calling for a rethink of government’s decisions.
The government brought its White Paper to parliament to debate the state of the struggling sugar industry. Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder told the National Assembly that the sugar industry now lags behind mining, construction and the rice industry in its contribution to the nation’s economy. Since taking office the government has already pumped $32 billion dollars into the struggling sugar industry and said some decisions have to be made over the industry’s future. It was revealed that the administration plans to keep Albion, Blairmont, and Uitvlugt.
Most of the workers said the sugar industry was their only source of employment. Some workers have been employed between 10 to 30 years.
But while Guysuco is the country’s largest single employer, the minister of Agriculture noted that there has been a sharp decline in the number of workers employed by the industry from 2006 to 2015.
In addition to that, the Sugar corporation is some $82 billion dollars in debt.