‘Disrespectful’ GuySuCo met with more protest action
Some of the sugar workers protesting yesterday.
Kaieteur News – Sugar workers believe Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has shown them and the Guyana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) a ‘rare respect’ for deferred pay talks, leading to increased industry yesterday’s protest action.
This was when employees at Albion and Blairmont Estates dropped equipment to take part in the industrial action, to show their disappointment at GuySuCo’s brass brass attitude as it engaged in lengthy pay and salary negotiations dating back to 2019.
GAWU said in a public missile on behalf of the workers yesterday, “… like their colleagues at the Uitvlugt Estate, who protested last Friday, (the strike workers) calling on the state-owned sugar company to go to the take the longstanding dispute seriously. ”
According to GAWU, estate workers are peeling that the sugar corporation has remained mum on the issue and expressed the belief that the company is not handling the issue with the seriousness required.
GAWU in writing on behalf of its employees observed a report in Kaieteur News yesterday, where Agriculture Minister Zulifkar Mustapha shared that the Government would seek to work with GuySuCo to “see what could be done.”
As such, GAWU argues that this pronunciation offers a glimmer of hope, although he noted that the Minister has drawn attention to the fact that the negotiations are within the remit of the Union and the Corporation.
The Union also sought to draw attention to the fact that the Minister’s words were quite different from what they had heard from GuySuCo before.
According to GAWU, “it has raised their doubts (employees) about what the sugar company had told them before and they believe this was not a healthy development.”
In addition, the Union said it was also concerned about comments made by a GuySuCo source in an article published in Stabroek News April 17, 2021.
That announcement reported a source saying that the five percent increase in 2019 given to employees, when calculated, will require about $ 1.5 billion annually.
GAWU argues, however, “… this disclosure is wildly wrong and appears to be someone’s imagination.”
It was noted that “while we try not to negotiate in the media, from data GuySuCo shared with the Union, we can say that the figure quoted has been multiplied many times over.”
Nevertheless, GAWU expressed optimism that the Corporation can return to the bargaining table and “return with clean hands.”
The Union expanded, saying “… we believe that serious negotiations could see the parties resolve their differences and lead to a satisfactory agreement.”
GAWU has since used the occasion to reiterate that during previous engagements with GuySuCo, it has indicated a willingness to revisit its position.
It was noted, however, that such a re-examination “depends on the sugar company demonstrating its sincerity to reach agreement and narrowing existing differences.”
GAWU said that employees, in urging the Corporation to return to the negotiating table with a view to settling the issues, “shared that they are not convinced of the Corporation’s position.”
It was noted, however, that despite GuySuCo’s apparent negligence, employees are prepared to listen to, “any reasonable offer from the sugar company.”
He also reminded GAWU that while the company is committed to providing a response to the Union by the end of March 2021, April is nearing completion and GuySuCo has not yet made its position known.