The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers' Union (GAWU) is the largest trade union in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. It was founded in 1946 as the Guiana Industrial Workers' Union. After failing in the 1950s it was reformed as the Guyana Sugar Workers' Union in 1961 but changed its name to Guyana Agricultural Workers' Union in 1962 before becoming the GAWU later that decade. Some functions, in a nutshell, would be first to represent workers' interests with a view to ensuring their rights and benefits are respected; secondly, to engage the employer in collective bargaining to improve wages, benefits and conditions of work; and thirdly, to engage government towards the improvement of the rights of workers generally. The GAWU is affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions.

References

* Trade unions in Guyana World Federation of Trade Unions Agriculture and forestry trade unions 1946 establishments in British Guiana Trade unions established in 1946 Agricultural organizations based in the Caribbean {{SouthAm-trade-union-stub