BREAKING: Veteran trade unionist and politician, Komal Chand dies

Last Updated on Wednesday, 8 April 2020, 22:48 by Writer

FLASHBACK: GAWU President, Komal Chand addressing a rally of Guysuco workers, business owners and residents at Skeldon.

Veteran Guyanese trade unionist and parliamentarian for several decades for the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Komal Chand died on Wednesday in Cuba, officials said.

He was 75 years old.

Up to the time of his death, he was President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).

Assistant General Secretary of GAWU, Aslim Singh said Chand had been in Cuba for the past three weeks now receiving medical treatment. He remembers Chand as someone who “very much committed to his trade union work and he always recognized the need for the upliftment of the working class and he used his voice in that regard to advocate and to speak on their behalf,” Singh said.

PPP Executive Secretary, Zulfikar Mustapha said “we are very saddened, it was a shock” that Chand died. “He was a bit sick and he was recovering and I thought he would have gotten back healthy to Guyana,” he said. Mustapha hailed Chand as a strong defender of Guyanese workers. “This is a loss not only for the PPP but the entire country. He was a strong trade unionist and he fought for the working people,” he added.