Issue#: 4 Volume#: 32

Combat
Voice of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU)

July/August, 2011

Wages agreement inked

Sugar workers receive 5% increase for 2011, Second Crop underway

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) commenced its second crop (2011) in mid-July, targeting to produce a revised years production of
282,712 tonnes sugar. If attained, it would be the
industrys highest production since 2005.
The first crop target of 138,791 tonnes fell short
by 31,920 tonnes to 106,871. Inclement weather
and the continued poor performance by the Skeldon sugar factory were pivotal to the industrys
lacklustre performance, although the crops production was the highest first crop production in
the last six (6) years.
The industry has targeted itself to produced
175,841 tonnes during the current second crop as
follows:Estate

INSIDE THIS EDITION

Skeldon
Albion
Rose Hall
Blairmont
Enmore/LBI
Wales
Uitvlugt
Total

Target
38,866
36,376
23,705
24,473
23,999
15,813
12,609
175,841

Will Guysuco attain such level of production? Is the requisite quantity of cane
available for harvest?
The weather prognosis assures that
there will be favourable weather to the
industry until late November, when all
the estates except Enmore are expected
to complete their harvests. The Corporation informed the Union at a meeting
held on July 22, 2011 that 2,044,880
tonnes of cane are available to be reaped
across the seven grinding estates. Such
quantity of cane calculated at the industrys budgeted tonnes-canes-per-tonne
sugar ratio of 11.63 would indeed enable
the industry to attain its crop target of
175,841 tonnes sugar and its years tar- Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud with President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Komal Chand and CEO of Guyget of 282,712 tonnes overall.
suco Paul Bhim, Chief Labour Officer, Yoganand Persaud and other Union
As the Corporation pursues its target, and Guysuco officals at signing of agreement
the remaining period of the year would
of pay should have taken place since January 01,
see a more responsive workforce than last year 2011; that is, following the receipt of five (5) per
and earlier this year, noting that on July 03, 2011, cent additional payment on workers aggregate
the Corporation implemented a five (5) per cent earnings for the year in December, 2010.
increase in the rate of pay of all workers retroactive to January 01, 2011. Such increase in the rate Continued on page eight

GAWU & Noble House GAWU ready to sit on Meet Jankie

Persaud A.A.
Seafoods conclude Guysuco Board
...the Union will not countenance
Agreement for 2011 anyone selecting its nominee...

GAWUs Honorary President, and over

60 years in sugar

Workers to benefit from 6% acrossthe-board increase

...see story on page two

...see story on page six

Commission finds
FITUG/GAWU protests
imperialist intervention evidence to support
Guysuco and SECL
Ronald Collins finally in Libya
...see story on page six

receives pension

COMBAT: July/August, 2011

...see story on page two

Americas need for puppets

- not partners

...see story on page seven

negligent in Jainarine
Singh Death

...see story on page three

Page One

GAWU ready to sit on

Guysuco Board
The Guyana Times, in its editorial of
August 19, 2011 titled Sugar wage Compromise stated, among other things,
that the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is refusing
the opportunity to sit on the Board of Directors of the Guyana Sugar Corporation
(Guysuco). Similar statements have also
been levelled against the Union by some
media houses and letter writers.
GAWU wishes to advise that such contention is a downright fabrication.
If ever the authority approved the Union to be accorded a representative on
the Board, the Union would certainly
participate to represent the genuine in-

terests of sugar workers and the country.

However, it must be made pellucid that
the Union will not countenance anyone
selecting its nominee, whose selection
must solely reside with the Union.
Needless to say that GAWU, as a responsible and committed stakeholder in
the future of the industry, will lend its expertise and commitment to worker satisfaction in the deliberation of the Board
of Directors. GAWU is also cognizant of
the fact that there are myriad challenges
which are not of the Unions making, but
will nevertheless be a team player on the
Board, advising on the wisdom of policies, programmes and management.

GAWU holds new round of

one-week Training Courses

GAWUs Emancipation
Day Message
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) joins
with Afro-Guyanese and the rest of
Guyana in commemorating the full
Emancipation of Africans from plantation slavery.
Rather than dwell on the now wellused theme of there would have
hardly been arrival of Indentured
Indians had there been no emancipation, GAWU would instead direct
African-Guyanese to use this weekend to give full practical meaning to
the United Nationsdesignated Year
of People of African Descent. Besides reflecting on what one hundred
and seventy-three (173) years of full
freedom have brought upon generations of Afro-Guyanese, including an
objective enumeration of the challenges which prevented a better life,
GAWU respectfully suggests that Afro-Guyanese use the principles and
initiatives their foreparents displayed
to improve their own circumstances.

ty about agriculture and land? Are

there similar situations facing AfroGuyanese today which do not confront other sections of contemporary
Guyanese society?
Amidst the dramatic entertainment
of soirees and taking into account the
choices available at election time,
GAWU recommends that Afro-Guyanese and the rest of Guyana mediate upon the foregoing questions.
For besides cerebral debates, those
considerations could also result in
practical ideas for collective improvement. GAWU declares that when the
African-descended segment of the
society is satisfied with officialdoms
fair play; when Afro-Guyanese experience genuine inclusion, and when
African-Guyanese know social justice
and economic progress, all of will
be the beneficiaries of the common
good.

May todays descendants of our

original sugar workers, our earliest
How did the post-1838 Africans nurses, policemen, lawyers and articonfront and overcome the hostile sans be inspired to hold their heads
saboteurs of their independence? high and strive in dignity and with inHow did they persevere and some- tegrity to claim the opportunities and
times prevail against the combined national resources which are there to
assaults of the plantocracy, the local be shared.
merchants and governments, as well
as the actions of the British GovernA happy and reflective Emancipament? Did recourse into the profes- tion Anniversary to all.
sions and trades balance uncertainPartcipants attending the second course which commenced on August 29, 2011

Twenty-five (25) workers drawn from

the various sugar estates commenced a
one-week Trade Union Education Course
at the GAWU Labour College on August
29, 2011. The course which will conclude
on September 02, 2011 aims to develop
workers skills and capabilities and will
touch on topics covering areas such as
Labour legislation and Agreements in
Guyana, the operations of Guysuco, NIS
and the Ministry of Labour, History, political structure and economic structure
of Guyana, Class division of Society, Capitalism and the Current Global crisis, Globalization and the need for a New Global
Human Order, The Labour movement in
Guyana and the Caribbean and Understanding the operation of Companies,
Communications and other skills needed
to represent workers
This is the second such course organCOMBAT: July/August, 2011

ized by the College since the conclusion

of the GAWU/NAACIE/GMB Educational
Project in April, 2011. The first course in
this new round was held from August 15
to 19, 2011 had an attendance of twenty-six (26) participants. The College will
soon develop an Advanced Course which
would allow participants to return to receive further and more in depth training.
The thrust of our educational work
is to provide the essential tools and
knowledge to our members to be more
and more effective in their Trade Union
work. But it is not limited to those objectives. We seek also to lift our members
overall consciousness. Working class
unity, indeed national unity and solidarity are values dear to us and these values
are heavily promoted in our educational
programmes.

Ronald Collins finally

receives Pension
Cde Ronald Collins, former employee
of Blairmont Estate, whose story was
featured in the June/July, 2011 edition
of Combat, was finally awarded his Old
Age Pension on (Friday) August 19, 2011
by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).
He received his outstanding pension
payments from 18th April, 2010, when
he attained aged sixty (60). It is recalled
that Collins was told by the NISs Fort
Wellington Office that he was dead, according to the NIS records, and someone
had been receiving Survivors Benefits as

a result of his death.

He further represented his matter, in
vain, at the NISs Head Office in Georgetown for about four (4) months, until he
went abroad last December. On his return to Guyana in June, 2011, he again
contacted the NIS to learn that he was
still deemed dead. He solicited the assistance of the Guyana Agricultural and
General Workers Union (GAWU) and,
undoubtedly, the Unions representation
to the NIS assisted him to obtain his pension.
Page Two

Job evaluation
recommences

Commission finds evidence to support

Guysuco and SECL neglient in
Jainarine Singh death

Team to complete the exercise

within the shortest possible timeframe
A job evaluation exercise with respect to approximately 5,500 timerated factory and field workers and
the foremen/forewomen who are
members of two bargaining units of
the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) recommenced on August 23, 2011. The exercise started in August, 2009. After
the conclusion of one aspect of the
exercise, GAWUs evaluators were
not required to complete the exercise. The head evaluator of the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (Guysuco)
was to require them subsequently to
complete the exercise. In the meantime, the exercise with respect to
NAACIEs bargaining unit of approximately 1,000 workers was completed
in January, 2010, and they are enjoying higher rates of pay with effect
from January 01, 2011.

six and five per cent respectively for

workers belonging to the bargaining units of the Guyana Agricultural
and General Workers Union (GAWU)
and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial
Employees (NAACIE) in the sugar industry.

The Corporation seemed reluctant

to proceed with the job evaluation
of the GAWUs time-rated members.
The Union, on July 14, 2011, charged
that the Corporation was acting improperly to have a job evaluation exercise concluded only for a minority
of its time-rated workforce, and demanded that the Corporation honour
its decision to conduct the exercise
for all its time-rated employees. The
Corporation, in response to the Unions letter on the subject, assured
the Union that it would recommence
The job evaluation exercise com- the exercise and whatever new rates
prises three dimensions: Firstly, job are approved, they would be impledescriptions are done, in which titles mented retroactively to January 01,
and respective duties are identified 2011.
for designated jobs. Secondly, the
respective jobs are awarded points
The team of the Unions evaluators
based on different criteria, such as are Cdes Seepaul Narine, General
qualification, experience, responsi- Secretary; Aslim Singh, Research Ofbility, etc. Finally, the jobs are priced, ficer; Harvey Tambron, Supervisor
and rates of pay are approved for the New Amsterdam Office; Mohamed
respective jobs.
Ahamad, Representative Rose Hall
Estate; and Abraham Nagamootoo,
The job evaluation exercise has its GAWU Executive Member. Those of
genesis in the Prem Persaud Tribunal, the Corporation are Cdes Rudy Amerwhich was a three-person Arbitration ally, Human Resources Head Office;
Tribunal that determined wage/sal- Dwarka Sharma, Factory Operations
ary increase for the years 2002 and Manager; Wayde Collins, Workshop
2003. It was headed by former Chief Manager Albion; Jainarine SookJustice Prem Persaud and included paul, Senior Instructor - Guysuco
former Major General of the Guyana Training School; and Raymond HanDefence Force, Norman McLean, and iff, Human Resources Manager (ag.)
former Executive Director of the Con- Rose Hall Estate. The evaluators have
sultative Association of Guyanese decided to work consistently to comIndustries, David Yankana. For years plete the exercise within the shortest
2002 and 2003, the Tribunal awarded possible timeframe.
COMBAT: July/August, 2011

President Bharrat Jagdeo and Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud unveil the plaque of the new
packaging plant at Enmore. Applauding are Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Finance Minister Dr
Ashni Singh and Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony.
A Commission of Enquiry into the death
of sugar worker Jainarine Singh on May 23,
2011 who died from an accident at Enmore
Factory on May 15, 2011 revealed that there
was adequate evidence to support that the
Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (Guysuco) and
Surrendra Engineering Corporation Limited
(SECL), contractor of the US$12.5M Enmore
Sugar Packaging Plant which is attached to
the Enmore factory were negligent and contributed to Singhs demise.
The Commission which was appointed by
Guysuco on June 14, 2011 comprised of Dale
Beresford as Chairman, Seepaul Narine and
Mohammed Ahmad from the Guyana Agricultural an General Workers Union (GAWU)
along with Sharma Dwarka and Deodat
James Sukhu from Guysuco.
Singh was attending to the sugar drying air
steam heater, which was designed to operate with steam pressure of not more than
22 pounds per square inch (psi) but steam
as much as 250 psi was released to the resulting in the explosion that caused Singhs
death. Singh suffered severe injuries and
third-degree burns and died after one-week
of hospitalization.
A valve which allows maximally a flow of 80
psi steam pressure, from the steam pressure
line to the line connected to the drying air
pressure steam heater was defective. It was
known to the Management of the Estate yet
it was not repaired or replaced.
SECL was sourcing steam pressure for the
steam heater from the high pressure steam
supply pipe without the permission of the
Estates Management, according to the findings of the Enquiry.
Evidence given by Guysucos Health and
Safety Officer revealed, that SECL had to be
cited on several occasions for violation of the
Corporations Safety policy.
The Commission opined that the Corporation allowed the scene of the accident to
be compromised by allowing unauthorized
persons to enter the area of the accident
and removing components critical to the

investigation. For example, the condensate

drain valve which broke off from the steam
pressure pipe and struck Jainarine Singh was
retrieved at the time of the Enquiry from a
Store Room controlled by SECL.
The sugar drying section which extracts the
sugar moisture prior to the stage of the sugar
packaging, along with the factory upgrade
was not taken over by Guysuco at the time
of the accident due to a number of defects
Some of the recommendations of the Commission are:1. The entire packaging plant and modernization project should be assessed for its
compliance with national and international safety and health regulations and
laws.
2. There should be greater emphasis on
compliance with the contract specifications as specified in the contract.
3. Need for immediate improvement of
Guysucos quality control system integrated into this project, and future projects to monitor installation, verification
of design specification and verification
of operating conditions for equipment
based on design details
4. All safety valves/gauges should be replaced with new standardised valves/
gauges in keeping with international
standards.
5. SECL should be made to comply with
Guysuco Occupational Safety and Health
policy on Personal Protective Equipment
as required by law (Occupational Safety and Health Act Number 32 of 1997,
Laws of Guyana)
The Enmore Packaging Plant which was
funded by the European Union (EU) is part
of the Guysuco Modernisation Programme,
and was constructed by Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited (SECL) of India, who
were contracted to supply, install and commission the packaging plant. The plant was
commissioned on May 09, 2011 by His Excellency President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Page Three

INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL

The truth about the situation in Libya

By Brian Becker
Libya is a small country of just over 6 million people, but it
possesses the largest oil reserves in all of Africa. The oil produced there is especially coveted because of its particularly
high quality.
The Air Forces of the United States, Britain, and France
carried out 7,459 bombing attacks since March 19. Britain,
France and the United States sent special operations ground
forces and commando units to direct the military operations
of the so-called rebel fighters it was a NATO-led army in
the field.
The troops may be disaffected Libyans, but the operation is
under the control and direction of NATO commanders and
Western commando units who serve as advisors. Their new
weapons and billions in funds come from the U.S. and other
NATO powers that froze and seized Libyas assets in Western
banks. Their only military successes outside of Benghazi, in
the far east of the country, have been exclusively based on
the coordinated air and ground operations of the imperialist
NATO military forces.
In military terms, Libyas resistance to NATO is of David and
Goliath proportions. U.S. military spending alone is more
than ten times greater than Libyas entire annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which was $74.2 billion in 2010, according to the CIAs World Fact Book.
In recent weeks, the NATO military operations used surveillance-collecting drones, satellites, mounted aerial attacks
and covert commando units to decapitate Libyas military
and political leadership and its command and control capabilities. Global economic sanctions meant that the country
was suddenly deprived of income and secure access to goods
and services needed to sustain a civilian economy over a long
period.
The cumulative effect [of NATOs coordinated air and
ground operation] not only destroyed Libyas military infrastructure, but also greatly diminished Colonel Gaddafis ability to control forces, leaving even committed fighting units
unable to move, resupply, or coordinate operations, reports
the New York Times in a celebratory article on August 22.
A False Pretext
The United States, United Kingdom, France and Italy targeted the Libyan government for overthrow or regime change
not because these governments were worried about protecting civilians or to bring about a more democratic form of governance in Libya.
If that were the real motivation of the NATO powers, they
could start the bombing of Saudi Arabia right away. There are
no elections in Saudi Arabia. The monarchy does not even allow women to drive cars. By law, women must be fully covered
in public or they will go to prison. Protests are rare in Saudi
Arabia because any dissent is met with imprisonment, torture
COMBAT: July/August, 2011

a n d
execution.
The
Saudi
Monarchy
is protected
by U.S.
imperialism
b e cause
it
is
p a r t
of an
undec l a re d
b u t
real U.S. sphere of influence, and it is the largest producer
of oil in the world. The U.S. attitude toward the Saudi Monarchy was put succinctly by Ronald Reagan in 1981, when he
said that the U.S. government will not permit revolution
in Saudi Arabia such as the 1979 Iranian revolution that removed the U.S. client regime of the Shah. Reagans message
was clear: the Pentagon and CIAs military forces would be
used decisively to destroy any democratic movement against
the rule of the Saudi Royal Family.
Reagans explicit statement in 1981 has in fact been the
policy of every successive U.S. administration, including the
current one.
Libya and Imperialism
Libya, unlike Saudi Arabia, did have a revolution against its
monarchy. As a result of the 1969 revolution led by Muammar Gaddafi, Libya was no longer in the sphere of influence
of any imperialist country.
Libya had once been an impoverished colony of Italy living
under the boot heel of the fascist Mussolini. After the Allied
victory in World War II, control of the country was formally
transferred to the United Nations, and Libya became independent in 1951 with authority vested in the monarch, King
Idris.
But in actuality, Libya was controlled by the United States
and Britain until the 1969 revolution.
One of the first acts of the 1969 revolution was to eliminate the vestiges of colonialism and foreign control. Not only
were oil fields nationalised, but Gaddafi eliminated foreign
military bases inside the country.
In March of 1970, the Gaddafi government shut down two
important British military bases in Tobruk and El Adem. He
then became the Pentagons enemy when he evicted the
U.S. Wheelus Air Force Base near Tripoli that had been operated by the United States since 1945. Before the British military took control in 1943, the facility was a base operated by
the Italians under Mussolini.
Wheelus had been an important Strategic Air Command
(SAC) base during the Cold War, housing B-52 bombers and
other front-line Pentagon aircraft that targeted the Soviet
Union.
Once under Libyan control, the Gaddafi government allowed Soviet military planes to access the airfield.
In 1986, the Pentagon heavily bombed the base at the same
time it bombed downtown Tripoli in an effort to assassinate
Gaddafi. That effort failed, but his 2-year-old daughter died,
along with scores of other civilians.
The character of the Gaddafi Regime
The political, social and class orientation of the Libyan regime has gone through several stages in the last four dec-

ades. The government and ruling establishment reflected

contradictory class, social, religious and regional antagonisms. The fact that the leadership of the NATO-led National
Transition Council is comprised of top officials of the Gaddafi
government, who broke with the regime and allied themselves with NATO is emblematic of the decades-long instability within the Libyan establishment.
These inherent contradictions were exacerbated by pressures applied to Libya from the outside. The U.S. imposed
far-reaching economic sanctions on Libya in the 1980s. The
largest Western corporations were barred from doing business with Libya, and the country was denied access to credit
from Western banks.
In its foreign policy, Libya gave significant financial and military support to national liberation struggles, including in Palestine, southern Africa, Ireland and elsewhere.
Because of Libyas economic policies, living standards for
the population had jumped dramatically after 1969. Having
a small population and substantial income from its oil production, augmented with the Gaddafi regimes far-reaching
policy of social benefits, created a huge advance in the social
and economic status for the population. Libya was still a class
society with rich and poor, and gaps between urban and rural living standards, but illiteracy was basically wiped out,
while education and healthcare were free and extensively
accessible. By 2010, the per capita income in Libya was near
the highest in Africa at $14,000, and life expectancy rose to
over 77 years, according to the CIAs World Fact Book.
Gaddafis political orientation explicitly rejected communism and capitalism. He created an ideology called the
Third International Theory, which was an eclectic mix of
Islamic, Arab nationalist and socialist ideas and programs. In
1977, Libya was renamed the Great Socialist Peoples Libyan
Arab Jamahiriya. A great deal of industry, including oil, was
nationalised, and the government provided an expansive
social insurance program or what is called a welfare state
policy akin to some features prevalent in the Soviet Union
and some West European capitalist countries.
But Libya was not a workers state or a socialist government, to use the popular if not scientific use of the term
socialist. The revolution was not a workers and peasants
rebellion against the capitalist class per se. Libya remained
a class society although class differentiation may have been
somewhat obscured beneath the existence of revolutionary
committees and the radical, populist rhetoric that emanated
from the regime.
As in many developing, formerly colonized countries, state
ownership of property was not socialist but rather a necessary fortification of an under-developed capitalist class. State
property in Iraq, Libya and other such post-colonial regimes
was designed to facilitate the social and economic growth of
a new capitalist ruling class that was initially too weak, too
deprived of capital, and too cut off from international credit
to compete on its own terms with the dominant sectors of
world monopoly capitalism. The nascent capitalist classes
in such developing economies promoted state-owned property, under their control, in order to intersect with Western
banks and transnational corporations and create more favourable terms for global trade and investment.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc
governments of Central and Eastern Europe in 1989-91 deprived Libya of an economic and military counter-weight to
the United States, and the Libyan governments domestic
economic and foreign policy shifted towards accommodation with the West.
In the 1990s, some sectors of the Libyan economic establishment and the Gaddafi-led government favoured privatization, cutting back on social programs and subsidies, and
integration into Western European markets.
The earlier populism of the regime incrementally gave way
to the adoption of neo-liberal policies. This was, however, a
long process.
Continued on page five
Page Four

INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL

Europes economic crisis spins out of control

By Peter Schwarz
The crisis of the worlds stock exchanges and financial markets is increasingly spiralling out of control. Governments are
being driven by developments which they are unable to influence.
On Tuesday, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, the leaders of the fourth- and sixth-largest economies in the world,
met at an emergency summit with the aim of calming the
markets. Two days later, the stock markets responded with
the biggest fall in three years.
The German DAX lost just under 6 per cent on Thursday, the
French CAC 40 fell 5.5 per cent, Britains FTSE declined 4.5
per cent and the US Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped
3.7 per cent. On Friday, the downward slide continued. Since
the beginning of the month, the DAX has fallen by 20 per
cent. Falls on this scale evoke memories of the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The panic on the stock markets shows that traders are
expecting a deep recession, already heralded by stagnating
growth and rising unemployment rates. Corporations will respond with new waves of layoffs, governments with further
budget cuts.
The bitter experiences of the 1930s threaten to repeat
themselvesnot only economically, but also politically. The
decline of the world economy is accompanied by growing national tensions, threatening the continued existence of the
European Union, and increasingly brutal imperialist wars, as
in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.
The current crisis is even more fundamental than eighty
years ago. At that time, as Europe slid into fascism and war,
the American bourgeoisie responded with a program of social
reforms in the form of President Franklin Delano Roosevelts
New Deal. The United States emerged from World War II as
the dominant economic power. Today, the US is itself the focus of the crisis, and no country or alliance can assume its
role as the anchor of the world capitalist economy.
After the war, the reconstruction of capitalism in Western
Europe was carried out with reference to the lessons drawn
from the Great Depressionthe need to temper the market
economy with social policies. In 1991, when the Soviet Union

was dismantled at the hands of the Stalinist regime, the demise of the USSR was proclaimed as proof that socialism had
failed and the unrestricted capitalist market had triumphed.
The past three years had shattered these claims. The markets, and particularly the financial markets, have demonstrated their destructive power. Speculators are driving governments and dictating policies that plunge society into ruin
and destroy the livelihoods of broad layers of the population.
The public purse is being looted in order to save the banks
and the assets of the wealthy; while education, health and
old age care are being destroyed and the youth pushed onto
the streets with no prospects. One austerity measure follows
the next, aggravating the recession, which in turn rips new
holes in the public sector, creating a vicious circle with no
way out.
Not a single bourgeois government or party can meet the
insatiable demands of the financial markets. In order to bring
the impending depression under control, it is necessary to
launch a massive programme of public works running into
billions of euros, and to tax speculative profits, high incomes
and wealth accordingly, or confiscate them. But such measures are not even being discussed, let alone carried out.
The power of the financial aristocracy is inviolable. All the
official parties, whether left or right, lie prostrate before it.
Nothing shows the class nature of society today more clearly
than the contrast between the treatment of British youth
arrested in the recent riots, who are being given draconian
prison sentences for minor offences in summary proceedings, and that of the stock exchange gamblers and speculators who have driven entire national economies to the wall,
without being in any way held accountable for their crimes.
In Europe, governments and parties are arguing over whether the insatiable appetite of the financial markets can be satisfied by the creation of so-called euro bonds, or whether
the union should be abandoned and the highly indebted
countries left to their fate.
The first option is supported by the governments of those
countries experiencing debt repayment difficulties, as well
as the German and French social democrats and Greens.
They link the creation of euro bonds to demands for strict
cost-saving measures, subjecting the budgetary policies of

individual states to the dictates of unelected EU bodies. The

introduction of euro bonds would extend the brutal austerity measures, to which countries such as Greece, Ireland and
Portugal have had to submit, throughout the rest of Europe.
The second option is favoured by right-wing populists and
sections of the bourgeois establishment, like Germanys Free
Democratic Party (FDP). They regard the national interest
as paramount, are prepared to abandon the euro, break up
the European Union and follow the path of national rivalries,
conflicts and wars. An echo can be found among the middleclass ex-left, who advocate national or regional independence as an alternative to the EU.
Workers must reject both these camps. The conflict in Europe does not run between nations, but between classes.
Only the united struggle of all European workers can break
the dominance of the financial aristocracy, which is defended
both by the advocates of a strong EU and their more rabidly
nationalist opponents.
The prerequisite for the defence of social and democratic
rights is a socialist programme. Not a single social problem
can be solved as long as control over the trillions in assets
remains in private hands, and the gamblers on the stock exchanges decide the fate of entire national economies. The financial institutions and large corporations must be expropriated and put under democratic control. Economic life must
be planned according to the needs of society rather than the
anarchy of the market and the profit interests of the owners
of capital.
The trade unions and social democratic parties will never
embrace such a programme. They are linked to the ruling
elite by a thousand threads, sitting in governments and on
boards of directors, and enjoy countless privileges. They do
not defend the interests of the working class, but seek to
divide, paralyze and suppress all opposition from below.
A socialist programme cannot be realized through applying pressure to the existing state institutions. It necessitates
the independent mobilization of millions of workers for the
establishment of a workers government and the United Socialist States of Europe. This requires the building of a revolutionary party, the International Committee of the Fourth
International, and its sections around the world.

The truth about the situation in Libya

Continued from page four
In 2004, the George W. Bush administration ended sanctions on Libya. Western oil companies and banks and other
corporations initiated huge direct investments in Libya and in
trade with Libyan enterprises.
There was also a growth of unemployment in Libya and in
cutbacks in social spending, leading to further inequality between rich and poor, and is class polarization.
But Gaddafi himself was still considered a thorn in the side
of the imperialist powers. They want absolute puppets, not
simply partners, in their plans for exploitation. The Wikileaks
released State Department cables between 2007 and 2010
that showed the United States and Western oil companies
were condemning Gaddafi for what they called resource nationalism. Gaddafi even threatened to re-nationalize Western oil companies property unless Libya was granted a larger
share of the revenue for their projects.
As an article in todays New York Times Business section
said honestly: Colonel Qaddafi proved to be a problematic
partner for the international oil companies, frequently raising fees and taxes and making other demands. A new government with close ties to NATO may be an easier partner for
Western nations to deal with.
Even the most recent CIA Fact Book publication on Libya,
written before the armed revolt championed by NATO,
complained of the measured tempo of pro-market reforms
in Libya: Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the
COMBAT: July/August, 2011

socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and
announcing plans for privatizationare laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. (CIA
World Fact Book)
The beginning of the armed revolt by disaffected members
of the Libyan military and political establishment on February 23 provided the opportunity for the U.S. imperialists, in
league with their French and British counterparts, to militarily overthrow the Libyan government and replace it with a
client or stooge regime.
Of course, in the revolt were workers and young people
who had many legitimate grievances against the Libyan government. But what is critical in an armed struggle for state
power is not the composition of the rank-and-file soldiers,
but the class character and political orientation of the leadership.
Character of the National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council (NTC) constituted itself
as the leadership of the uprising in Benghazi, Libyas second
largest city. The central leader is Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who
was Libyas Minister of Justice until his defection at the start
of the uprising. He was one of a significant number of Western-oriented and neoliberal officials from Libyas government, diplomatic corps and military ranks who joined the opposition in the days immediately after the start of the revolt.

As soon as it was established, the NTC began issuing calls

for imperialist intervention. These appeals became increasing panicky as it became clear that, contrary to early predictions that the Gaddafi-led government would collapse in a
matter of days, it was the rebels who faced imminent defeat in the civil war. In fact, it was only due to the U.S./NATO
bombing campaign, initiated with great hurry on March 19,
that the rebellion did not collapse.
The last five months of war have erased any doubt about
the pro-imperialist character of the NTC. One striking episode took place on April 22, when Senator John McCain
made a surprise trip to Benghazi. A huge banner was unveiled to greet him with an American flag printed on it and
the words: United States of America You have a new ally
in North Africa.
Similar to the military relationship between the NATO and
Libyan rebel armed forces, the NTC is entirely dependent
on and subordinated to the U.S., French, British and Italian
imperialist governments.
If the Pentagon, CIA, and Wall Street succeed in installing a
client regime in Tripoli, it will accelerate and embolden the
imperialist threats and intervention against other independent governments, such as Syria and Venezuela. In each case,
we will see a similar process unfold, including the demonization of the leadership of the targeted countries so as to silence or mute a militant anti-war response to the aggression
of the war-makers.
Page Five

Meet Jankie Persaud, A.A.

GAWUs Honorary President & over 60 years in Sugar

a trusted representative to oversee the

cane scale operations was approved
by the sugar producers in the same year.
The workers on each
estate were permitted to identify a cane
supervisor of their
rank to be present
at the Cane Scale for
each shift to ensure
that the weights of
cane of each punt is
correctly recorded.
Politically, Jankie
said, he was inspired
by the Peoples Progressive Party which
was formed in 1950,
and particularly by
young Dr Cheddi Jagan who was championing the rights of
all workers, the right
President Bharrat Jagdeo presenting Cde Jankie Persaud with his Special Awardee Certficate at the Unions
to adult suffrage, etc
19th Congress in August, 2009
since his return to
In this edition of Combat, we profile the Unions current
Guyana from studies
Honorary President and long-standing stalwart, Cde Jankie abroad and his winning a seat in the Legislative Council in
Persaud. He was born on March 31, 1932 at Enterprise Pas- 1947.
ture on the East Coast of Demerara. He was the seventh of
eight children born to Beharry and Duijie. Jankies father, like
He said when he first heard Cheddi Jagan at a public meeting
Jankie, was a sugar worker. His task was to load canes stacked he knew right away that he was committed to representing
by cane cutters on the banks next to the canals where the the grass-root people. Jankie sought and became a proud
cane punts were placed. Jankies mother also laboured in the member of the PPP from the early days after the Party was
sugar industry as a weeder.
formed in January, 1950. In 1965, he was elected a member of the central committee of the party for the first time.
At aged 22, Jankie got married and out of the union came He said he was successful in remaining a member for many
five children. Jankie was proud to attend Non Pareil Anglican years until 1996, when he did not take part in the election of
School, but his school attendance lasted up to Standard Four, that years triennial Congress.
since his father chose him to tend a small number of cattle to
supplement the household income.
Cde Jankie remarked that his active involvement in many
trade union and political battles allows him to garner tremenIn 1950, Cde Jankie, at aged 18, got employment at Enmore dous experience, and he felt he made a contribution to betEstate as a cowpen boy to assist in tending the Estates cat- ter the welfare and rights of his fellow Guyanese. He recalled
tle. After a few months, he took up work as a trench-cleaner, the battles for the recognition of GAWU by the sugar plantand later, in 1951, as a cane-cutter. He emerged as a worker ers, the struggle for adult suffrage; the gaining of political inleader as he became concerned about the problems and dependence of the country; the struggle for the restoration
grievances that affected workers in his gang. He was always of free and transparent elections in Guyana, etc. In GAWU,
able to summon the courage to speak to the estates manag- he served in many capacities before and after the Unions
ers on issues that had to be addressed.
recognition. He held the posts of treasurer, vice president
and president. He saw some significant expansion of GAWU
He became a member of the Guiana Industrial Workers Un- when he was at the helm like the Union becoming the repreion (GIWU) which was prominent in the 1948 strike when sentative body of workers at Caricom Rice Mills Limited, BEV
five (5) sugar workers were massacred in connivance be- Processors Inc, Demerara Distillers Limited Security, Noble
tween the sugar planters and the colonial police. Soon af- House Seafoods and Demerara Timbers Limited.
ter 1953 that Union became defunct. The incumbent union
representing field and factory sugar workers, the Man Power
He said that if he had to live his life all over again and the
Citizens Association, was despised by the overwhelming ma- struggle ahead was similar to what it was at the beginning of
jority of workers for its neglect to represent the interest of the 50s, he would not lose a moment to be in the peoples
its members. Many workers issues were championed by the struggle once again.
workers themselves across the sugar industry.
For Jankies outstanding contribution to the restoration of
free elections, and for his dedicated service to the working
In 1971, there was a major struggle with the Sugar Produc- people of Guyana, Cde Jankie was awarded the Arrow of
ers Association when cane cutters, who had been question- Achievement during Dr Jagans Presidency on May 26, 1996.
ing the accurate functioning of the Cane Scales, reached a He also became a Justice of the Peace and a Commissioner of
rebellious dimension. The successor Union to the GIWU, the Oaths to Affidavits on July 04, 1994. He was also recognised
Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), al- by GAWU at the 19th Delegates Congress in August, 2009
though not recognised by the planters, supported the strug- for his outstanding contribution to the Union and his support
gle across the industry. The demand of cane-cutters to have to the upliftment of the members of the Union.
COMBAT: July/August, 2011

GAWU & Noble House

Seafoods conclude
Agreement for 2011
Noble House Seafoods Limited and the Guyana Agricultural
and General Workers Union (GAWU) concluded negotiations
on August 18, 2011, resulting in the companys 300-person
workforce being awarded a six (6) per cent across-the-board
pay hike for a one-year period commencing from April 01,
2011.
Workers could receive an additional three (3) per cent on
the attainment of the production target.
The parties also agreed to higher meal allowances, and survivors grant in the case of industrial death of an employee.
The union and the company also decided to address the implementation of a contributory pension scheme for all employees.
The Companys negotiating team was led by its General
Manager, Leslia Ramalho and included other Senior Managers, while the Unions delegation was led by its General Secretary, Cde Seepaul Narine and the shop stewards

EDUCATION CORNER:

Global Crises &

Global Governance

During the year 2010, three major reports were prepared

by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs relating to economic and social conditions. There were: World
Economic and Social Survey 2010 entitled Retooling Global
Development, Report on the World Social Situation 2010 entitled Rethinking Poverty and The Millennium Development
Goals Report 2010
All of these reports emphasised the serious impact of the
global crisis which emerged in 2008. In the Overview of Retooling Global Development, Sha Zukang, the UN UnderSecretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs stated:
The global economic crisis of 2008-2009 exposed systemic failures in the workings of financial markets and major
deficiencies at the core of economic policy making. The
rapid spread of the financial fallout in the United States
of America throughout nearly the entire world, affecting
jobs and livelihoods, underscored the interconnectedness
of the global economy. Moreover, the economic and financial crisis came on top of several other crises. Skyrocketing
but highly volatile world food and energy prices reflected
a decades-long neglect of food agriculture and failure to
reign in increasingly speculative energy markets. Climate
change is already a clear and present danger whose consequences are being felt in many parts of the world in the
form of more frequent and severe droughts and excessive
rainfall; its effects are compounding the other crises.
The USG went on to show the links of the crises to the
weaknesses in global governance and pointed to the need
for coherent policy responses when he stated as follows:
These multiple dramas have unfolded simultaneously
and have exposed major weaknesses in our mechanisms
of global governance for facing up to these challenges.
While the strong desire for quick economic recovery is understandable, getting back on track would mean returning to an unsustainable path of global development. Sustained and widespread future prosperity will require major
reforms in global economic governance and new thinking
about global economic development.
Continued in the next edition
Page Six

FITUG/GAWU protests imperialist

intervention in Libya
Americas need for puppets - not partners

As yet another Arab-Independent state

reels from imperialistic-inspired regime
change, the Federation of Independent
Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and its
largest affiliate, the Guyana Agricultural
and General Workers Union (GAWU),
wish to place on record their abhorrence
at the deadly machinations of the West
and its NATO forces under the facade of
assisting popular revolt(s) by the people.
To put in context the lies that Libya
cried out for revolution and change, it
is instructive to read the recent assessments of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). According to the
CIAs World Fact Book:
Because of Libyas economic policies,
living standards for the population had
jumped dramatically after 1969. Having a small population and substantial
income from its oil production, augmented with the Gaddafi regimes farreaching policy of social benefits, created a huge advance in the social and
economic status for the population.
Libya was still a class society with rich
and poor, and gaps between urban
and rural living standards; but illiteracy was basically wiped out, while education and health care were free and
extensively accessible. By 2010, the per
capita income in Libya was near the
highest in Africa at $14,000, and life
expectancy rose to over 77 years
Even more was admitted by the latest
Fact Book before the current armed revolt. The CIA noted the measured tempo
of pro-market reforms in Libya: Libya
faces a long road ahead in liberalizing
the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps including applying for WTO
membership, reducing some subsidies,

and announcing plans for privatization

are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy.
The beginning of the armed revolt, on
February 23, 2011, by disaffected members of the Libyan military and political
establishment provided the opportunity
for the US imperialists, in league with
their French and British counterparts,
to overthrow militarily the Libyan government and replace it with a client or
stooge regime.
Of course, in the revolt were ordinary
people who had many legitimate grievances against the Libyan government.
But what is critical in an armed struggle
for state power is not the composition of
the rank-and-file soldiers, but the class
character and political orientation of the
leadership
FITUG/GAWU would urge the Government and People of Guyana to study this
latest manipulation of an Arab Peoples
impatience which was made to be an
excuse for NATOs aggression. NATOs
imposition of itself it nothing but a pandering to the remnants of class division
in Libya.
The alternative government - the socalled National Transitional Council (NTC)
- is nothing but a body of upper-class,
Western-oriented Generals who were
uncomfortable with Colonel Gaddafis
unique Libyan Welfare State. The Council is steeped in the pro-colonial mindset
of days when Libyas high-quality oil reserves developed Mussolinis Italy, the
British and the United States.
FITUG/GAWU implores right-thinking
leaders to study the consequences of
the demolition of Libyas sovereignty.
How many puppet regimes does the
West want in North Africa?

FOR SALE

Caterpillar Generating Set

Model: GEP44
Engine:
Perkins Heavy Duty 4 cyclider Diesel Engine
Phase:

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KVA: 40
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Contact: GAWU, 59 High Street and Wights Lane, Kingston,
Georgetown, Tel: 227-2091/2, 225-5321, 223-6523
COMBAT: July/August, 2011

Better workers welfare

for Guyanas development
Excerpts from President Komal Chands May Day Address 2011
Continued from last edition
Critchlow Labour College

nored their right. The Union, on the

assurance of the settlement of the
matter, would withdraw its lawsuit.

Let us also be reminded of GAWUs

pronouncement, a few years ago,
that the Governments subvention to
the Critchlow Labour College ought
to be restored on condition that there
is a properly constituted Board which
is run democratically, and there is
transparency and accountability of
the Colleges finances. Incidentally,
it is pleasing to note that the GAWU
Labour College and the Critchlow
Labour College will jointly observe
Critchlow Month with a symposium
on Occupational Safety and Health
at the GAWU Labour College on May
04, 2011.

Conclusion

Sugar Industry

Cde President, in welcoming you,

allow me to seize the opportunity to
bring to your attention that Resolution which was passed in Parliament
and related to Clico has so far not
been applied to GAWU. I am confident that you are aware of this oversight and it will be soon corrected.

Turning to the sugar industry, comrades, there is a burning issue which

is of major concern to sugar workers.
They have not been able to get the
five (5) per cent hike they received
last year added to their rate of pay
from January 01, 2011. Employees in
the private sector and the rest of the
public sector received theirs. Therefore, it could be concluded that sugar
workers have been treated discriminately, so far. However, on April 21,
2011, the Corporation, at a special
meeting with the Unions 50-person
negotiating team, assured that the
new rate would be implemented not
later than June 30, 2011 with retroactivity to January 01, 2011. The
vigilant sugar workers are working
assiduously to reap as much canes as
they possibly could reap during this
crop now that the weather has vastly
improved. They are, however, looking forward to receiving the new rate
of pay not later than the stipulated
date.

Comrades, on this May Day, FITUGs

platform is being graced by the presence of the President of the Republic.
We are pleased to welcome him at
our celebration. We well know that
over the recent years he has won
personal acclaim, and in so doing
raised the profile of Guyana forwith
his LCDS project. Unusual climate behaviour in our day has triggered off
large disasters, while threatening entire peoples. LCDS can be seen, then,
as Guyanas contribution to stave off
the threat to human civilization.

At this time, GAWU sends May Day

greetings to its members, all the
workers of Guyana and throughout
the world.
At this time we reaffirm our solidarity with workers and oppressed peoples the world over struggling against
imperialism and its militaristic polices as well as its economics based on
greed, plunder and exploitation.
At this time, we need to restate our
support to all those who stand for
peace, democracy, freedom, protection of their sovereignty, and economic justice.

At this time, GAWU recommits itself

to unity and struggle in the interests
We understand from some quarters of its members, the Guyanese workof Guysuco that the Diamond work- ing people and the continuing develers would be awarded their sever- opment of our country.
ance pay at last. We shall hail such
decision when it is pronounced, and Long Live May Day!
the aggrieved workers would be Long Live the Workers of Guyana!
pleased and most satisfied that the Long Live Proletarian InternationalCorporation, though late, has not ig- ism!
Page Seven

Wages agreement inked

Continued from page one

Further, the agreement which was appended between the Union and the Corporation, on August
19, 2011, for another five (5) per cent increase in
pay for this year 2011, has served to improve the
relationship between the workers and the Corporation.
Preceding the signing of the Agreement, the Union issued the following statement on August 18,
2011:The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers
Union (GAWU) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation
Inc (Guysuco) concluded negotiations on August
16, 2011 after eleven (11) sessions starting June
20, 2011, resulting in sugar workers being awarded with effect from January 01, 2011, a five per
cent (5%) pay rise.
Last July, workers across the industry were belatedly paid another five per cent (5%) rise retroactive
to January 01, 2011. The Corporation had been demanding that this years (2011) sugar target must
be achieved as a precondition for the five per cent
(5%) increase in the rate of pay to be effected from
January 01, 2011. It is recalled that President Bharrat Jagdeo intervened late last year when the cashstrapped Corporation contended that no increase
in wages was possible.
The Unions President sharing the platform with
President Jagdeo, among others,at the Rally of Enmore Martyrs on June 16, 2011, in pressing for the
implementation of the higher rate of pay, said, I
need to lament the non-implementation of a five
per cent rise in the rate of pay of sugar workers
from January 01, 2011. Workers in the public and
private sectors got new rates of pay this year based
on their increase in pay, last year. While sugar
workers got a five (5) per cent increase in pay, they
are still paid at their 2009 rates of pay. It is most
discriminatory to treat the nations sugar workers
so disrespectfully. Sugar workers are becoming incensed at the procrastination. They would not like
to see the delay last beyond June 30, 2011.
This year is the first time in six (6) years that the
Corporation and the Union reached an accord at
bilateral negotiations. There was the intervention
of arbitrators, conciliators from the Ministry of
Labour and the Executive President during those
past years. It is also the first time since collective
bargaining was restored between the Union and
the Corporation in 1989 that wage-settlement was
reached months before the end of the year.
The Unions forty-five - (45) - strong negotiation
team, including elected delegates of the rank- and
file, unanimously approved last Tuesday the five

per cent (5%) rise in pay notwithstanding the Unions original claim of twelve per cent (12%). Members of the negotiating team paid cognizance to
the Audited Statement of the Corporation for 2010
and the Management Accounts as at May 31, 2011
which indicate that the cash-strapped Corporation,
for the first five months of this year, is indebted to
creditors and bankers to the tune of over six (6) billion dollars.
Guysuco is expecting that this years revenue arising from molasses and sugar production, which
target was revised in early July to 282, 712 from
298, 879 tonnes set at the beginning of the year,
would enable it to break-even at the end of the
year.
In the course of the negotiation, the Union insisted that the Corporation furnishes all relevant information to allow the Unions negotiators to be fully
acquainted with facts, and that the full process of
the negotiations be fully respected. The Union was
wary that an acceptance of the Corporations five
per cent (5%) offer should not be accepted automatically without the completion of the process,
notwithstanding its sister Union, the National Association of Clerical Commercial and Industrial
Employees (NAACIE), by agreement dated July 08,
2011, approved the five per cent (5%) wage/salary
increase.
GAWU takes this opportunity to insist that the
Corporations Board of Directors and its Management team be tireless in putting the Skeldon new
Factory right, so that the Estates targeted yearly
production of 110,000 tonnes would be realized by
the end of 2012- the newly-set date of the Corporation. Special attention must also be paid to ensure that the current field expansion work is progressing within the approved time-frame and that
the field layout, adequate roads, irrigation canals,
drainage trenches, etc are properly constructed.
These are among other concerns of the Union and
we take the opportunity in the interest of the industry and the workers to urge that such concerns
be addressed with consistency and dispatch.
We look forward in the coming period that other
outstanding issues of the Union can be addressed
in an amicable and genuinely co-operative atmosphere.
At the signing of the Agreement GAWUs President Komal Chand called for sugar production to
be increased so that the Corporation could remain
economically viable and competitive. He reiterated his concerns with the Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project (SSMP), noting that adequate steps
were not being undertaken by the Corporation and
the Ministry of Agriculture to remedy the defects
of the new factory, and that there was no proper

execution of work toward the field expansion of

over 10,000 hectares.
He noted that high world market sugar price is
compensating for the cut in the EU sugar price, but
lamented that Guysucos poor sugar production is
not giving the Corporation the opportunity to have
surplus sugar to sell outside of its contractual markets. The Unions President also contended that
the industry must shortly produce at least 300,000
tonnes sugar per year as the first phase to save itself as an entity.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud
shared the same concerns as the GAWU President.
He attributed some of the problems plaguing the
industry to the lack of proper management. He
said: Guysuco does not have the competence or
expertise to manage the Skeldon project.
Minister Persaud noted, that is the reality we
are dealing with, lets not fool ourselves. He added that as a result of the management problems
at the Skeldon estate, that the Board of Directors
is currently considering two proposals from a Chinese and an Indian company to have a management contract to operate the Skeldon estate.
The Minister also commended the Union and the
Corporation for their efforts to ensure that the negotiations ended amicably. He said: this Agreement in 2011 is unique in the fact that it was concluded without any level of acrimony. That is the
type of atmosphere this industry needs to move
forward and to deal with the challenges internal
and external.
He expressed hope that the Agreement would
lead to a cultured partnership. That is what we
want, whereby workers and management can sit
and work, and at the end of the day, to ensure that
Guyanas sugar industry is viable and remains competitive. The sugar industry, he said, is very important not only from an economic point of view, but
also from a social standpoint.
Minister Persaud noted that, the sugar industry is our industry, the peoples industry, and it requires steadfastness and requires a high level of
commitment. He added that in order for sugar
to be sustained here, more than 300,000 tonnes
must be produced per year. If Guysuco makes less,
then it is not making money, it is not economically viable. The Government of Guyana, Persaud
stressed, is committed and will remain committed
to ensuring that the sugar industry is sustained.

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