标签： Guyana

On May 1, 2026 — International Labour Day — Guyana’s long-running, politically charged split in the national labour movement moved into the open once again, as the country’s two largest trade union federations publicly declared opposing allegiances less than a full election cycle away from a general vote.

The Federation of Independent Trades Unions of Guyana (FITUG), which organizes the largest bloc of unionized workers in the country, used its Labour Day gathering hosted on the lawns of State House to reaffirm its unwavering support for incumbent President Irfaan Ali and the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

Addressing attendees at the event, FITUG President Carville Duncan lauded Ali for his consistent pro-labor agenda and open working relationship with the country’s independent trade unions. Duncan emphasized that the collective size of the organized labour movement in Guyana exceeds the membership base of any single political party in the nation’s history, framing FITUG’s endorsement as a critical marker of political credibility.

“If we, like the doctor, say you dead; you dead and once we say you good, you good,” Duncan told the crowd, stressing the federation’s outsize influence on national electoral outcomes. He went on to note that Ali has worked directly with FITUG to help rank-and-file union members transition from traditional labor roles to small business entrepreneurship, a policy priority Duncan praised as forward-thinking. “Comrade Ali you’ve done well, Sir, and may you live longer to do better than you’re doing now because you have the workers who are with you,” Duncan said, adding that the federation would back Ali for another term should he choose to run for re-election.

FITUG’s member unions include several historically pro-PPP organizations: the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees, the Guyana Labour Union, and the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union.

In his remarks to the gathering, President Ali did not directly address the ongoing divisions within Guyana’s labour movement, instead focusing his speech on calls for broad national unity, echoing the pre-1955 cohesion that once defined the PPP before the party’s historic internal split. He urged attendees to reject divisive political tactics, including petty infighting on social media, and focus on the country’s ambitious long-term development.

“This not the moment where we play divisive games. This is not the moment when we run around to find spectacles of humour. This is not the moment when we are childish on social media and social media posts,” Ali said. “This is the moment when we embrace a much larger picture. This is a moment where we confront a future that is grand.” The President added that the PPP remains open to engagement with all Guyanese, and that the government is expanding individual empowerment through expanding home ownership, inclusive social programs, and broadened economic opportunity for all segments of society.

While FITUG has a well-documented history of open support for the PPP, the country’s other major union federation, the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), used its own separate Labour Day rally to call openly for the removal of the PPP from national office. GTUC President Norris Witter and Jinnah Rahman, an associate of the opposition-aligned We Invest in Nationhood movement, explicitly urged voters and union members to oust the incumbent government.

Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, who also leads We Invest in Nationhood, and the parliamentary leader of the A Partnership for National Unity coalition, joined the GTUC event to urge the federation’s member unions to build organizational strength to oust the PPP-Civic coalition from power. Major GTUC affiliates include the Guyana Public Service Union, Guyana Teachers Union, Guyana Workers Union, the Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers, and a competing branch of the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union.

As of Friday, May 1, 2026, Guyana’s main opposition bloc has laid out a series of policy demands targeting the country’s rapidly escalating cost of living, calling on the ruling government to leverage unexpected revenue windfalls from global commodity price shocks triggered by the Israel-U.S. conflict with Iran to deliver immediate relief to households.

Dr. Terrence Campbell, parliamentary leader of the opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), laid out his core proposal in a press briefing Friday: temporarily amend the country’s Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Act to unlock surplus oil revenues for immediate retail fuel subsidies. The geopolitical conflict has sent global crude prices soaring far beyond the projections that underpinned Guyana’s 2026 national budget, generating unanticipated extra income for the oil-producing South American nation.

Currently, the NRF Act mandates that all current-year resource revenues are transferred to the country’s consolidated fund only the following fiscal year, a rule that blocks immediate access to the new windfall. Campbell argues that cutting fuel costs at the pump is the most effective root-level intervention to slow broader inflation, since higher transport and energy costs filter through to raise prices for nearly all goods and services across the economy.

“Easing pressure at the source, right at the pump, is the simplest and most direct way to deliver relief to all Guyanese,” Campbell told reporters.

Data underscores the scale of recent price increases: just two months before the outbreak of the Israel-U.S.-Iran conflict, state-owned Guyana Oil Company sold gasoline for 170 Guyanese dollars (GY$) per litre. As of Friday, that price has jumped to GY$208 per litre. Diesel prices have seen even steeper growth, surging from GY$168 per litre pre-conflict to a range of GY$210 to GY$268 currently. Global benchmark Brent crude traded at US$108.35 per barrel on Friday, nearly $50 above the US$59 per barrel projection included in the 2026 national budget. Campbell added that Guyana is also collecting elevated tax and royalty revenues from gold, which was trading at US$4,611.35 per ounce on Friday, far above typical forecast levels.

Campbell also criticized the government’s existing GY$3 billion cash support package for rice farmers, who have raised alarms over spiking costs for fertilizer, fuel, transportation and irrigation water. Dismissing the targeted payout as insufficient relief, he noted “man shall not live by rice alone,” arguing that broad-based fuel relief would benefit all sectors of the economy, not just agriculture. “A one-off payout for rice farmers won’t deliver the broad relief we need when prices are rising across every category. Most inflation starts at the pump, so that’s where relief needs to start,” he explained.

In addition to fuel subsidies, Campbell called on the administration to roll out an additional GY$200,000 cash grant for households, labeling the current government “uncaring” for its failure to address widespread financial strain.

APNU Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed echoed the calls for broader intervention, drawing a parallel to a recent regulatory move by the country’s central bank. After Central Bank Governor Dr. Gobind Ganga mandated that commercial banks cap the spread between U.S. dollar buying and selling rates at three percentage points, Mohamed argued the government could use similar regulatory power to impose price caps on essential consumer goods to rein in cost of living increases.

“We need to establish price controls, and even government-managed retail outlets to cap prices for staple food items. Without intervention, prices will only climb higher,” Mohamed told reporters ahead of the annual May Day parade, which was set to kick off from Georgetown’s Middle and Carmichael Streets. He also called on national trade unions to take a more aggressive stance in advocating for living wages for public sector employees.

Separately, Dawchand Nagasar, General Secretary of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees, confirmed he held talks with the Minister of Labour last week to discuss updating minimum wage levels in both the public and private sectors to reflect current inflation.

On May 1, 2026 — International Labour Day — Guyana’s main opposition figures gathered with members of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) following a low-turnout parade to mount a coordinated call for cross-group unity aimed at unseating the incumbent People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP-C) administration ahead of the 2030 general and regional elections.

The march, which stretched from Georgetown’s Parade Ground to Woolford Avenue, drew only 300 attendees representing affiliated GTUC unions, a far smaller crowd than organizers had anticipated. Even with the muted turnout, speakers at the subsequent post-rally meeting held at the Guyana Local Government Officers Union used harsh language to criticize the ruling government’s record on worker rights and economic policy.

GTUC President Norris Witter opened the sharp critiques, framing the PPP as a public hazard that required collective action to eliminate. “For me the PPP is a dangerous disease and, therefore, we must work together to determine what kind of dangerous medicine is required to get rid of this disease,” Witter stated, arguing that broad-based unity — rather than divisive sectarian politics — was the only path to removing the government from power.

Dr. Terrence Campbell, parliamentary leader of the main opposition bloc A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), expanded on this call, extending the demand for unity beyond opposition political parties to include trade unions and civil society groups. Campbell labeled the current administration a “wicked, evil, inhumane, despicable regime” and urged union members to back opposition-led protests on any issue — from cash grant increases to electoral reform — ahead of the 2030 vote. “When we call a protest whether it be for cash grants or a protest for a new voters list or biometrics; whether invited or uninvited, I would expect to see my union brothers standing there with us,” Campbell said.

Azruddin Mohamed, Guyana’s Opposition Leader, echoed Campbell’s calls, pressing unions to mobilize around core worker grievances that include stagnant low wages and retaliatory administrative measures, such as punitive transfers for public sector workers who oppose the ruling government. Mohamed confirmed that he had provided financial support to the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) during its recent strike for higher salaries, and committed that all opposition parties would collaborate with organized labor to secure better compensation and working conditions for public servants.

Mohamed also took aim at the government’s recent policy priorities, questioning how the country’s nearly GY$6 trillion 2026 national budget has failed to deliver tangible improvements to working people. He pointed specifically to a May Day brunch hosted by President Irfaan Ali for nurses at State House, noting that the healthcare workers face a three-year wait to receive just GY$16,000 in promised compensation, while First Lady Arya Ali conducted an official visit to Singapore. Closing his remarks, Mohamed urged union leadership to reorganize and mobilize to deliver a much larger turnout for the 2027 May Day parade, emphasizing that collective organizing is the only way to oust what he called a “dictatorship, deceitful, treacherous government.”

The event also exposed ongoing rifts within Guyana’s broader opposition coalition. Dorwain Bess, leader of the Vigilant Political Action Committee (VPAC), publicly called on Mohamed to honor his pledge to build genuine, inclusive collaboration across all opposition factions. Bess and his former coalition partner Amanza Walton-Desir of the Forward Guyana Movement have been locked in a public dispute over parliamentary representation following last September’s general and regional elections. Veteran politician Hamilton Green, who entered Guyanese politics shortly after completing his education, noted that the opposition’s biggest immediate challenge remains convincing ordinary Guyanese to join their political struggle.

As of Wednesday, 29 April 2026, a prominent Guyanese city businesswoman has initiated a landmark constitutional challenge against a key provision of the country’s 2018 Cybercrime Act, arguing that the clause violates fundamental free speech protections enshrined in Guyana’s constitution and runs counter to the nation’s international human rights commitments.

Ann Narine, represented by experienced legal counsel Nigel Hughes and Dr. Vivian Williams, filed her fixed-date application with the High Court on 14 April 2026, asking the court to formally strike down Section 19(2) of the 2018 Cybercrime Act on multiple grounds. Narine’s legal team argues the provision is unconstitutional, null and void due to three critical flaws: inherent vagueness, overbroad scope, and disproportionate impact on protected civil liberties. The challenge specifically targets the clause’s violation of Article 146 of the Guyanese Constitution, which explicitly guarantees the right to freedom of expression.

At the core of the challenge is Narine’s argument that Section 19(2) fails to meet basic legal standards for clarity when criminalizing speech-related conduct. The provision does not provide a defined, consistent meaning for key terms including “humiliation,” fails to clarify the scope of “electronic data” as applied to this section, and sets no clear threshold to separate criminal activity from expression that is legally protected under the constitution. Without these clear definitions, Narine contends the clause cannot be applied consistently or predictably, creating a risk that legitimate speech will be incorrectly criminalized. This inherent ambiguity alone, the application argues, renders the provision unconstitutional under Article 146.

Narine further argues that the clause lacks the narrowly tailored limits required for restrictions on free speech in democratic societies. International legal standards hold that any limitation on freedom of expression must meet three cumulative requirements: it must be clearly defined by law, pursue a legitimate public aim, and be reasonably justifiable and proportionate to the goal it seeks to achieve. Section 19(2), Narine’s application maintains, fails to meet all three of these requirements.

The challenge also invokes Guyana’s binding international human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), whose own Article 19 protects the fundamental right to freedom of expression. A broad, uncurbed interpretation of Section 19(2) that criminalizes protected expressive activity would put Guyana in direct breach of this international treaty, the application notes, adding that Guyana’s constitution must be interpreted in alignment with the country’s international human rights commitments.

Beyond the facial challenge to the provision itself, Narine is also attacking the specific application of the law to her case as unconstitutional. She argues that the criminal charge brought against her suffers from multiple fatal procedural defects that violate her constitutional right to a fair trial. The charge, she notes, fails to identify the specific published content at the center of the allegation, the digital platform where the content was allegedly shared, any recipients of the alleged publication, and the specific actions that took place within the cited time period. By failing to outline these basic details, the prosecution effectively criminalizes unspecified speech and denies Narine the ability to know what case she must answer, violating both Articles 144 and 146 of the constitution, according to the application.

Further procedural flaws are cited in the challenge: the summons filed against Narine did not specify which exact section of law she is alleged to have broken. Additionally, the sworn information included in the court file was dated after Narine’s initial court appearance, was never served on her legal team, and was not presented to the court when she was first required to respond to the charge and raise objections. Narine argues these omissions deprived her of adequate notice of the allegations against her and the opportunity to prepare a full defense, denying her the fair hearing protections guaranteed under Article 144 of the constitution.

Narine is also seeking a High Court declaration that her entire prosecution is unconstitutional, unlawful, and constitutes an abuse of court process. Citing Article 187 of the Guyanese Constitution, which enshrines the principle of prosecutorial independence, Narine argues that allowing a prosecution led by an attorney retained, paid, and taking direct instructions from the private complainant in the matter directly violates the constitutional requirement for independent prosecution. As part of this claim, she is asking the court to rule that the fiat granted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to prosecuting attorney Mikel Puran is unlawful, unconstitutional, null, void, and has no legal effect.

The application requests multiple court orders: a formal order quashing the DPP’s fiat to prosecute, an order barring any continuation of the criminal charge against Narine, a stay of all proceedings related to the charge until the constitutional challenge is heard and determined. In the alternative, Narine asks the court to issue a permanent stay of the criminal charge on the grounds that it amounts to an abuse of the court’s process.