Workers call out Blairmont Estate for not adhering to COVID-19 guidelines

Sugar workers attached to the Blairmont Estate in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) on Friday last organised a sit-out since they believe that management is not taking COVID-19 seriously.
As such, the employees demanded a meeting with management to address their concerns, particularly as it relates to their health. The workers are accusing management of not adhere to the guidelines put in place by the National Task Force. One such rule that is broken on a daily basis is social distancing.
Workers are reportedly forced to join crowed punts to and from their designated areas of work.
Julius Nurse, a workers’ representative, explained that members of his gang are required to work at a location called “Bishop” but when they got to “Red Wing”, another location, only four punts were available to transport hundreds of workers.
“The gang is comprised of 250 persons and four punts can’t work. Only last Wednesday we had a meeting with management where we clear the air on the COVID-19 protocol and management told us that they will adhere to the COVID-19 protocol. This morning we saw a breach. This is five you talking about on a daily basis,” he told this publication.
However, in August, Manager of the Blairmont Estate, Hutson Griffith told the media that the Estate had placed adherence to the COVID-19 guidelines high in its list of priorities but Nurse is calling for management to treat workers with respect.
The Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union said it is in full support of the worker’s actions.

The Union’s Berbice Representative, Harvey Tambron, told Guyana Times on Friday that the management at Blairmont Estate has recommitted to comply with the guidelines but three days after, the issue is still prevalent.
“The issue of social distancing was raised during the meeting and we were assured that things will be put in place. This is not the first complaint that we have been having and we have approached management to ensure that things go the right way. The lives of workers and their families along with the persons that they come into contact on a daily basis are at stake,” the GAWU representative stated.
He expressed surprise that on Friday, only four passenger punts were available to transport workers. He added that the workers had requested to meet with management to thrash out the issues but this was denied.
“I think it is unfair to them. I think it is unsafe for them to travel under such conditions. Management needs to do better than there. There were shortages of lorries on Sunday. Only eight lorries were available to transport into the backdam.”
One month ago, Griffith told the media that the Estate had been able to almost double the number of lorries needed to transport workers so that social distancing can be observed. “We moved from eighteen lorries to twenty-six and we will be thirty.”
He noted that the sugar estate has been experiencing some difficulty getting the number of lorries needed to transport workers since it costs in excess of $2 million to convert a lorry to the transport labour.
However, Tambron said the Union was informed that the lorries were withdrawn due to payment issues.
The Union was not officially informed of this; hence, it could not inform workers in a timely manner. Dozens of workers were left on the road after not being transported to their worksite.
“They did not earn for the day and that was a cut in production as well. So, management needs to get their act together to address these things. These are straightforward issues to provide transportation to ensure that they are working in a healthy and safe environment.”
GAWU, he noted, does not want to see workers striking. “We need to see production. We need the workers to work,” he said.
“Since 2014 there was nothing for the workers.” He added that there is need for dialogue between management of the Blairmont Estate and the workers’ representatives.
“We are hoping that we can have a speedy resolution to this issue. Not only at Blairmont but at Albion as well, where simple things like crossing punts were not available for workers to reach to their worksite.”
At Blairmont, he added, cane is being burnt which is of poor quality and management has refused to negotiate with the representative of the workers on a payment package.
It is customary that harvesters are paid an allowance when the cane is of poor quality to make up for their lost income when the cane is weighed.
The Union representative noted that management has also refused to conduct field visits which the representatives say is vital for management to get an appreciation for some of their concerns.
Meanwhile, the plight of the sugar workers was raising with the Region’s parliamentary representative, Fizal Jaffarally.
“I hope GuySuCo understands their responsibility first and foremost to workers’ safety. GuySuCo and its workers have played an important role over the years in the growth and development of the development of Guyana.”
He said sugar workers have contributed significantly to the GDP of Guyana and will continue to do so.
“Sugar workers’ interest is at the heart of this Government,” the parliamentarian added.