Sugar industry crippled as more workers down tools

API 2015 in limbo

BY KRISTEN MACKLINGAM

Thousands of sugar workers throughout the sugar belt have officially taken strike action at four out of five estates, currently in the grinding process.

GAWU President
Komal Chand

GAWU General Secretary Seepaul Narine

President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) Komal Chand told Guyana Times on Monday  workers attached to Skeldon and Rose Hall, Berbice estates have joined in solidarity with other sugar workers to strike.
He explained that the only estate fully operational is the Albion Sugar Estate, Berbice.

According to Chand, while workers at Enmore and La Bonne Intention, East Coast Demerara and Blairmont, West Bank Berbice estates commenced strike on Saturday and Sunday respectively, the other sugar workers began striking on Monday.

At this point in time he stated, it is unclear as to how long these workers intend to strike for, but that GAWU is trying its best to engage the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to come to a settlement on the Annual Production Incentive (API) for 2015.

The position taken by the sugar company over the 2015 API is what incensed the workers across the country and prompted them to strike, he said.

Meanwhile  GAWU General Secretary Seepaul Narine had told Guyana Times on Sunday that the workers who went on strike have resorted to this form of action as a result of disappointment with the corporation’s stance in relation to what it is offering workers as API for this year:

“Following the meeting between GAWU and GuySuCo on Friday where the 2015 API for sugar workers was discussed, the workers’ representatives in the GAWU delegation went back to the Estates and notified them. The workers who have gone on strike are dissatisfied with GuySuCo and what it is offering. We have seen the reaction from those at the East Demerara estates and now at Blairmont but at this point I can’t say if the others at the rest of the estates will be going on strike as well.”
Although the union and corporation met twice last week to discuss and settle the API for 2015, their discussions ended in limbo.

On Friday last the union and sugar entity met but could not agree on the API.

This publication understands GAWU has proposed five-and-a-half days API while GuySuCo has offered two-and-a-half days. Chand had earlier told Guyana Times the sugar corporation has once more “reinstated” its position on the counter-proposal GuySuCo put forward to the Union. The sugar entity was not showing any signs of budging:

“They have not reconsidered what they are offering GAWU for the API. The fact that they haven’t removed from their initial position means that the representatives who were there at the meeting will have to go back to the various estates and inform the workers of what GuySuCo is offering… After this then we at the union will be able to say what the way forward is.”

He sought to explain that while GAWU and GuySuCo have not yet come to a ‘conclusion’ on this matter, the position taken and maintained by the sugar company has ‘incensed’ the union’s delegation at the second meeting.

Added to that Chand posited, even though no decision has been made about the 2015 API, the corporation has signalled its intension to unilaterally pay in March 2016.

“GuySuCo has said that whatever they have to pay they will pay it next year March. This is highly unusual for them to pay the API for this year until next year. Usually the API for the workers is paid at the end of the last crop of the year,” the GAWU President told Guyana Times.

This position taken by GuySuCo on the 2015 API comes against the backdrop of the sugar company being unable to negotiate with the union on its salary/wage increases. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy.com)