On 15 June 1948, workers and estate representatives met at Plantation Non Pareil, but the discussions did not resolve the strike. The workers had rejected the cut-and-load system and the estate’s use of replacement labor; they also wanted the GIWU to represent them in negotiations. The National Trust’s account locates this meeting at Non Pareil, while another Guyana Chronicle article describes workers gathering at Enmore that day to prevent replacement labor. Both accounts show a dispute over work, union recognition and employers’ ability to keep production going during a strike.
On 1 January 1920, outstanding indenture contracts in British Guiana were officially brought to an end, according to Guyanese historical accounts. This legal closure followed India’s 1917 ban on...
On 3 April 1924, colonial police opened fire at Ruimveldt on a large march of sugar workers from East Bank Demerara estates. The marchers were traveling toward Georgetown in support of the striking...
On 16 February 1939, police opened fire during a strike at Plantation Leonora on the West Coast Demerara, killing four workers, including a woman, and seriously injuring four others. Workers were...
On 22 April 1948, about 1,200 sugar workers from seven East Coast Demerara estates began strike action against the cut-and-load harvesting system and unfair measurement of work. The method required...
On 5 June 1948, striking sugar workers staged a mass protest in Georgetown after weeks of unresolved labor conflict on the estates. The march brought rural plantation workers’ demands into the...
👉 Talks at Non Pareil fail to settle the sugar strike
Current
15 June 1948
On 15 June 1948, workers and estate representatives met at Plantation Non Pareil, but the discussions did not resolve the strike. The workers had rejected the cut-and-load system and the estate’s...
On 16 June 1948, British Guiana police opened fire on striking workers gathered outside the factory at Plantation Enmore. Five workers were killed: Rambarran, Pooran, Lallabagee, Surajballi and Harry....
On 17 June 1948, workers and mourners marched from Plantation Enmore toward Le Repentir cemetery in Georgetown with the funeral hearses of the five workers killed by police. The march transformed a...
On 27 April 1953, British Guiana held its first general election under universal adult suffrage, with 24 House of Assembly seats contested. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), an anti-colonial...
On 9 October 1953, the British government suspended British Guiana’s recently introduced constitution, dismissed the elected ministers and sent troops to the colony. The action followed the PPP’s...
On 12 August 1957, British Guiana held elections under a revised constitutional order after four years of appointed interim government. The People’s Progressive Party faction led by Cheddi Jagan won...
