JAGAN KNEW THAT IN 1974 HE WAS DEALING WITH A WEAKENED MPCA

January 1, 2014, By chris, Filed Under Features/Columnists, Peeping Tom, Source

Cheddi Jagan’s alleged rapprochement with the Manpower Citizens Association (MPCA) in 1974 was no earth-shaking event.  It is also the wrong example to use to illustrate Jagan’s capacity to put the past behind him, set aside personal differences and build alliances for a united working class. Some context is needed to understand the approaches that Jagan was alleged to have made to the MPCA whose President, Richard Ishmael, had joined forces with US and British imperialism in the toppling of the PPP government from power.

1974 was an eventual year in the sugar industry and in the country. The Spring Crop for that year was a record one and this led to increased demands within the sugar belt for the greater benefits, demands which were being led by GAWU, which was challenging Ishmael’s MPCA for recognition within the industry.

1974 was of course also the very year that Ishmael was re-elected as President of the Guyana Trades Union Congress. He beat off a spirited but futile challenge from Gordon Todd of the CCWU, after the delegates supportive of a PNC candidate threw their support behind Ishmael to avoid a Todd victory.  In the run-up to the GTUC elections, Burnham had offered political “carrots” to Ishmael so as to bolster his standing in the sugar belt in the wake of challenges by GAWU.

Just prior to his re-election, Ishmael had called a strike in the sugar industry to press for a 10% increase in wages, a demand that the sugar producers refused to accede to, claiming that they were already committed to paying an annual production incentive.

This strike by Ishmael must be seen in the context of the precarious position that his union, the MPCA faced. Its support amongst factory and field workers had become seriously eroded by GAWU which was widely believed to command the overwhelming support of field and factory workers, a fact that was subsequently confirmed when a recognition poll was held.

Ishmael was however canny enough in wresting concessions from Burnham by threatening to abandon the struggle and leave the government and the estates to deal with Jagan’s GAWU. That threat and the fear of Todd’s election as President of the GTUC were sufficient to cause delegates supportive of a PNC-backed candidate to switch their support to Ishmael.

By 1974, also, the crisis in the economy had deepened. Because of squandermania and rampant corruption, foreign exchange shortages were developing.  Increased prices and black-marketing of goods were beginning to hurt the pockets of workers.  In the face of restlessness by workers, the GTUC was unable to toe the line in its subservience to the then government. Burnham and Ishmael were reported to have had bitter exchanges in their meetings, with Burnham said to be resorting to profane language in his exchanges with the GTUC head.

Jagan understood clearly the declining support of the MPCA and the credibility problem faced by Ishmael within the GTUC. Any rapprochement that Jagan may have instigated between GAWU and the MPCA must be seen in the context of Jagan knowing that he was dealing with a man whose reign in the sugar belt and the GTUC was about to end. More importantly, the sugar producers had already begun to prepare for a poll in the industry because they knew that recognition of GAWU was no longer avoidable. Ishmael was no threat to Jagan.

In 1975, GAWU flexed its muscles and called a major strike in the industry which the now weakened MPCA was forced to go along with, even though it was at that time still the recognized trade union in the sugar industry.

In August of the following year, the GTUC became embroiled in controversy when it was revealed that its labour college was  receiving funding from an American trade union which was believed then to be in consort with the Central Intelligence Agency. The executive of the GTUC took a decision to discontinue the funding. Ishmael’s health had by this time deteriorated and he fell ill and was hospitalized in the United States. This caused the Americans some anxious moments, since they feared that if Ishmael was unable to continue then Todd could take control of the GTUC.

By the following year, 1976, Ishmael was a forlorn figure within the trade union movement. At the annual May Day Rally he was booed by a crowd packed with PNC supporters when he rose to make his address.

He had served his purpose in destabilizing the PPP government in the sixties and in keeping out, as long as possible, GAWU’s recognition within the sugar belt. The GTUC and the PNC had no more use for him. It was time to put him out to pasture.

He nonetheless left a very rich man.