Govt approves $200M one-off payment for sugar workers

Following protest action across the country in recent weeks over wage and salary increases, Government has approved a six-month pay hike for sugar workers for the year 2019, amounting to some $200 million.
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) have been embroiled in a public spat over the longstanding issue of wage and salary increases for the period 2019 to 2021.

As such, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday engaged the General Council of GAWU, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of GuySuCo, Pravinchandra Dave, and the sugar company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sasenarine Singh.
The meeting, which was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), addressed the way forward for the sector to ensure that the interests of all stakeholders are served. According to a missive from the Office of the Vice President, GAWU’s concerns about increases to workers for 2019 were settled during the engagement.

“A six-month increase for workers, totalling $200 million, was approved for 2019 and is expected to be paid soon. With increases having been paid to workers for 2020, negotiations for 2021 will be addressed at a later date,” the statement detailed.
Meanwhile, it was disclosed during Friday’s meeting that GuySuCo’s management has been working with its new Board of Directors on a turnaround plan for the industry.
As such, the Vice President assured of the Government’s support for the sugar industry, given its role in the local economy and other social considerations.
“We are working daily to change the trajectory of the sugar sector,” he indicated.
According to Jagdeo, work is also continuing on returning assets to GuySuCo that were disposed of in a less than transparent manner by the former Administration.
It was further noted that all parties have committed to continued engagement on the issue.
Back in March, GAWU had accused GuySuCo of dragging its foot on the issue of wage increases and again registered its disappointment with the sugar corporation last week. Since then, along with a series of picketing exercises staged by workers at the three operating estates – Albion, Corentyne, and Blairmont, West Coast Berbice, and Uitvulgt, West Coast Demerara – the two entities have been engaged in a public spat despite them having agreed to meet on May 4, 2021, to resolve the issue.
In fact, GuySuCo’s public comments regarding the state of its finances have attracted a stinging rebuke from the trade union which condemned the sugar company for turning to the media ahead of the upcoming meeting.
Following an outburst by GuySuCo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sasenarine Singh on Wednesday that the Corporation would not negotiate salary increases with GAWU through the media, GAWU has lashed back at the sugar company saying that GuySuCo’s comments to the media were unhelpful to good relations with workers.
GAWU condemned GuySuCo for committing to not negotiating the matter in the media while making public utterances on the issue.
Singh on Wednesday called out GAWU for what he described as irresponsible utterances in the media.
“Whoever wants to negotiate in the media, I say to them go ahead; go ahead and expose your foolishness,” the CEO said in a strongly-worded speech.
His comments came in the wake of a one-day strike and protest by workers attached to the Blairmount and Albion Estates on Monday and similar actions taken by Uitvlugt workers last week over the unsettled wage increases.
GAWU also took a swipe at Singh, who explained that the company has been experiencing financial hardship. He said that in 2020, GuySuCo spent 102 per cent of its earned revenue to pay wages and salaries. Meaning that without financial support from the shareholders, the Corporation could not have met its wages bill.
GAWU said that GuySuCo’s claim that it spent 102 per cent of its earnings on wages and salaries was perplexing.
“If what the Corporation is saying is indeed true, we are befuddled as to how it met its other current expenses,” the Union said in a release to the media on Thursday.
GAWU also pointed to an April 14, 2021 article in the State-owned Guyana Chronicle newspaper which stated that sugar was getting sweet again and that soon the company would be able to stand on its own. The Union questioned GuySuCo’s gloomy description of the affairs of the company.
Notwithstanding, GAWU said it remains willing to engage GuySuCo in frank discussions and sought to address in a respectful manner the outstanding issues at the upcoming May 4 meeting.