While many in the sugar belt continue to cry out about the reduced finances owing to the December 2016 closure of the Wales Sugar Estate, many more workers and their families are dealing with a similar plight following the entity shedding even more staff. Guyana Times was told on Tuesday that in the past few months, an additional 20 Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) office staff attached to Wales Estate were terminated.
The Wales Sugar Estate
A source revealed to this publication that apart from nine sluice attendants functioning in the West Demerara area, only two office staff were retained. According to information disclosed, one of the staff members is working in welfare to mainly look after pensioners while another is stationed in the Finance Department. In addition, it was revealed that there are a few guards employed and about six persons attached to ensure the estate’s turbine continues to function for electricity purposes.
Guyana Times reported earlier this year that operators within the Mechanical Tillage Department are currently being phased out. A GuySuCo source revealed in February that some eight members of staff attached to the Wales office department, who were mainly women, were set to be retrenched.
The skeletal numbers seen today are a steep reduction from the 1000-plus workers that toiled when Wales was in its heyday. However, with the end of preferential deals in the European market and rising production costs, sugar has been seen as unprofitable. This was enshrined in Government’s rationale when it highlighted that Wales would be closed. However, many in the business sector, political Opposition and other stakeholders including those directly affected by the State’s downsizing of the industry had called for Government to first consider how the loss of jobs would impact on workers, residents and the wider village economies.
This newspaper visited the once famous Wales ‘Friday Market’ where vendors were seen packing up their stocks before 13:00h for the day. They indicated that this has been the case for the last several months, but they are still hoping that Wales could be saved.
Additionally, former Wales cane harvesters have been waiting since late 2016 to receive their termination benefits after they refused to take up employment at the Uitvlugt Estate. This refusal was formed on the basis that they cannot be compelled under the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act (TESPA) to travel beyond 10 miles from their original place of work. Uitvlugt is some 22 miles away from Wales.
Meanwhile, over 4000 workers attached to Enmore, Skeldon, Rose Hall were given dismissal letters by December 2017.
However, some of the former Enmore and Skeldon workers were temporarily re-hired under plans by Special Purposes Unit (SPU) to re-open the two estates as the State-owned body eyes private investors. This revelation has prompted stakeholders to push Government to rehire all of the dismissed sugar workers on the contention that the sugar industry remains a viable one.
