Guyana Sugar Workers On Strike

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – Sugar workers, on Monday, went on strike, accusing management of refusing to hold negotiations for increased wages until the findings of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the ailing Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) are released.

President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, told the Guyana-based on line publication, Demerara Waves Online News, that it was not even an interest in a specific percentage wage increase that sparked off the three-day strike.

“That doesn’t arise now because, what we ask for is an engagement for collective bargaining. We haven’t reached that point yet,” he said.

But GUYSUCO Director, Paul Bhim, said, that the corporation would not begin wage negotiations until the COI Report is made public.

“We are not refusing. We have asked them to hang on until the COI report is made public and then we will start negotiations,” he said, adding that this was te best way because of the problems confronting the sugar industry.

“It may affect whatever wages talks they are going to have with the union and this may depend on the recommendations,” he said.

The COI Report was handed over to government three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, GUYSUCO said, it had produced 10,254 tonnes of Sugar for the week ending October 16, surpassing the 10,000 tonnes mark for the third time this crop.

It said Skeldon, Albion, Blairmont, East Demerara and Uitvlugt estates have all surpassed their weekly targets, while Rose Hall Estate achieved 97 per cent.

GUYSUCO said, that to date it, has paid approximately GUY$531.4 million (One Guyana dollar =US$0.008 cents) to employees on the seven estates for their achievement of 47 weekly production incentives.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, on Monday, deemed the strike by sugar workers as political saying that the industry is now performing well under a newly installed Interim Management Committee (IMC).

“One of the problems with the sugar industry is that it has been used as a political football, and you have seen the result of that is the reduction in productivity over the years and the putting of square pegs in round holes by the former government.”

Holder added that the COI that was established to look into GUYSUCO’s affairs had a GAWU representative as one of its members.

“So although the results of the COI have not yet been taken to Cabinet, GAWU is aware of it because they had a man on the Commission who was part of the results, so I suspect what’s going on here it’s political and the government does not want to get involved in this kind of thing.

“We want management to handle it and we want GAWU to be responsible individuals and look at what they are going to do to the industry,” Holder said.

He said the David Granger government had adopted a hands-off policy allowing managers to administer the affairs of the company.

“We have put in an interim management team, you have seen the productivity has gone up. In fact we have surpassed targets over the last three or four weeks,” Holder said.