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

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. 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 The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...

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 Sugar industry of Guyana {{SouthAm-trade-union-stub