… makes last ditch proposal before downing tools

By Michael Younge

The 50-member General Council of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) on Saturday decided to put its planned countrywide strike on hold so that a final claim could be made to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) for discussions on the Annual Production Incentives for workers which is due to be paid at year-end.

GAWU President Komal Chand

The Annual Production Incentive (API) is enjoyed by all staff when the industry achieves and exceeds the production targets set for a given period. GuySuCo has consistently reported that it has been achieving its weekly and monthly production targets since the new Government came into power and the overall targets were revised, given some of the constraints faced by the industry. When contacted on Saturday, GAWU President Komal Chand confirmed that a decision was taken at the three and a half hour meeting to put any pending strike action on hold and to seek all other alternatives to get GuySuCo to return to the wages and salaries negotiation table. He said that a majority of the representatives at the General Council Meeting felt that the Union needed to engage GuySuCo on the API issue to see whether its posture would differ from the one exhibited in relation to increases for workers before the year end. “So we have decided to formally submit a proposal to GuySuCo’s management on Monday for consideration and we hope that they will get back to us by the next week”, he said. Asked what were some of the other underlying factors that influenced the decision to the put the strike on hold, Chand said that no formal decision was ever arrived at to strike in the first place but when analysis of the time was done, it revealed that worker turn out would have still been poor, given that it was a holiday in the new week. He explained too that GuySuCo, in anticipating the strike action, failed on Saturday to prepare the fields and estates for harvest as workers turned up and there was little or no work for them to do at the estates. “In a sense, they struck against themselves… we are reminded of the CEO’s utterances that for every day of strike they lose 2000 pounds of sugar so they have self-inflicted a strike today (Saturday) as none occurred from our end”, he explained. Chand stated that the union has also explored the need to get GuySuCo to return to the table and believes that over the next week, more attempts would be made to achieve success in this respect. “We know that the Union is avoiding these wage discussions”, he said, before being asked whether the next step will be to speak directly to Government, to which he responded in the negative as discussions were not formally closed with GuySuCo. Questioned whether his Union is coming under political pressure from the Government, given the utterances of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and the casual posture of Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, Chand responded in the negative. “But I can tell that GuySuCo’s position appears to have a political undertone and seems to be getting support from the Government,” he remarked. He is convinced that any attempt by GuySuCo to reject the offer to discuss the API and other pending issues will see higher levels of solidarity among workers and stronger calls for more assertive action to ensure that sugar workers are paid what they deserve.

LIGHT A CANDLE FOR SUGAR WORKERS

Statement by Moses Nagamootoo

The threat by the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) to de-recognise the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) is intemperate and reckless.

The media report that Guysuco has notified GAWU that it is considering to end the 1976 Recognition and the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes Agreement with the union, is an extreme provocation.

This year sugar workers were given not a cent either as wage increase or annual bonus as Guysuco did not achieve its set target. The workers were literally expected to “produce or perish”.

I am shocked that the Government could condone this attack on GAWU and the sugar workers; and that leaders of my party, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), would expect to be in silent conspiracy with this outrage against the vanguard of the working class movement in Guyana.

I can no longer remain silent. This is a grave national matter, and one of conscience.

I dissociate myself from what seems to be a state-party alliance in sledge-hammering GAWU, judging from the leading role of Dr. N.K. Gopaul, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President and former acting Head of the Presidential Secretariat, as Chairman of Guysuco,

and Mr. Donald Ramotar, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), who is a prominent member of the Board.

The sugar workers have been the bedrock of the anti-colonial struggles for independence from Great Britain.

For 28 years (1948-1976) they fought for industrial democracy and won union recognition.

For 28 years (1964-1992) they were in the front trenches for restoration of democratic rule in Guyana.

Their struggles gave birth to the PPP, and were exemplified in the commitment of Cheddi Jagan, the sacrifices of the Enmore Martyrs, Kowsilia, and many others.

No one denies that the sugar industry is in crisis due to a combination of exogenous and internal management factors. Low worker turn-out, work stoppages and inclement weather compounded the problem. But the sugar workers cannot be the only scapegoats for failure.

For many years, I have been associated with the cause of Guyana’s sugar workers and, invariably, marched under their banner in their epic fight for union recognition.

As a young teacher I founded a school to help mainly sugar workers’ children to get an education.

Later, as a journalist, I captured in many feature articles the consistent and unwavering struggles in the sugar belt.

And I can attest that their union has never allowed itself to be intimidated or blackmailed in the past. I expect no more from GAWU which should, with dignity and responsibility, prosecute all reasonable options to end the stalemate in the industry. Strikes must be the last resort.

I also expect Guysuco to re-think its options, and to eschew its intention to de-recognise GAWU.

The de-recognition threat ought to be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally before irreparable damage is done. The Government would do well also to explore all possibilities to give the sugar workers even a nominal wage increase. Zero is an insult, not an option.

I’d like to borrow the poignant words of Ricky Singh, a former colleague of mine, when he wrote several years ago in another context, that we should, as we observe Christmas, “Light a Candle” for our sugar workers.

• When the last administration left office,

GuySuCo’s debt burden stood at $82 BILLION...

Jagdeo & Ramotar left the Sugar Workers

Bankrupt & Broke

Prime Minister, Moses Nagamoootoo

says none of the cash-strapped

Guyana Sugar Corporation’s

(Guysuco) estates would be closed,

and hinted that there could be

a greater role for the private sector

in the industry.

Based on his reading of the Sugar

Industry Commission of Inquiry’s report,

he said definitively that

none of the seven estates

would be shut down.

“I can say, for sure,

that no recommendation

has been made for the closure

of any of the estates.

As far as I know all estates

are open and will be operative

and so there is cause for any

reservations or any cause for alarm,”

he said.

The Prime Minister observed

that workers have opted

to remain on the job

rather than resume strike action

to pressure government into talks

for a nine percent increase

in wages and salaries.

“On the ground,

there isn’t any great passion

for a labour withdrawal

at this time and

I think the sugar workers

are showing great understanding

about the plight of the industry

and not do to anything

that will place it in further jeopardy,”

he said.