– first time workers’ unions take collective stand

By Kristen Macklingam

For the first time in Guyana’s history, the leaders of the three unions representing sugar workers throughout the country stood in solidarity outside the head office of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) on Tuesday in a peaceful protest. This is in light of the recent position taken by the Sugar Corporation that it cannot facilitate dialogue with representatives of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) or the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) concerning wage/salary increases for sugar workers this year.

GuySuCo had met with representatives of NAACIE on Tuesday morning when this union was told the same thing as GAWU on Friday last – that the Corporation needed to be guided by the report of the recently-concluded Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into sugar on the way forward before talks on wage/salary hikes could take place.

According to a press release on Tuesday from GAWU, during its meeting with the sugar entity on Friday, it was advised that GuySuCo was awaiting a framework within which the negotiations would take place.

“The framework, GAWU understood, was being awaited from the Government possibly through GuySuCo’s Board of Directors. A delegation from all seven estates representing NAACIE met today (Tuesday) with GuySuCo at the Ogle Staff Club, East Coast Demerara. Like GAWU last Friday, the NAACIE was also told about the Corporation’s need to be guided by a framework flowing from what is now understood to be an incomplete CoI report,” the release stated.

Guyana Times was told that GAWU, NAACIE and the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) have all submitted wage and other proposals during the first quarter of this year (2015) for GuySuCo to consider and engage in collective bargaining.

GAWU maintains that although there was a law established in 1997 known as the “Trade Union Recognition Act (TURA)” through which Section 23(1) makes it compulsory for bargaining to take place, the “behemoth” Corporation continues to “flout it”.

It must be noted that GAWU represents thousands of workers who are employed in the fields and factories; NAACIE represents the supervisory and clerical staffers; and the GLU represents the workers at the Demerara Sugar Terminal.

“Despite appeals to the Corporation to meet at the bargaining table, the unions and by extension, their members are becoming frustrated with the stance of GuySuCo. As a red herring, the Corporation is using the recommendations of the Sugar Commission of Inquiry as the stumbling block. It appears that the Government has deemed the report of the CoI as incomplete,” GAWU contends.

The Union posited that the productive sugar workers of GuySuCo must not be used as a “football”. In the interest of the sugar industry, the Corporation and its workers, the three sugar unions are calling for the immediate engagement without further procrastination between the unions and GuySuCo.

“Minister Noel Holder is reported to have said that the report is in need of “tightening”. What then will be GuySuCo’s new excuse for not talking and negotiating? There needs to be an engagement with the view to bring a speedy resolution of the wage/salary hike for all sugar workers for the year 2015,” GAWU President Komal Chand told this newspaper on Tuesday evening. (kristenm@guyanatimesgy.com)