GuySuCo, GAWU sign pact for pay increase for Albion workers
…55 employees to benefit from retroactive payment
The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (GuySuCo) signed an amended agreement with the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), which will specifically benefit the Central Workshop employees at Albion Estate.
The agreement, which was signed on Thursday, will see employees of the Central Workshop at the Albion Estate receiving premium wage when they work on Saturdays.
GuySuCo Chief Industrial Relations Manager Deodat Sukhu handing over the signed agreement to GAWU General Secretary Seepaul Narine
The new agreement is an amendment to a previous agreement which allowed GuySuCo not to pay the workers extra when they worked on Saturdays.
The 2004 Comprehensive Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) had considered offering work to employees of the Central Workshop at the Albion Estate, on Saturdays, in lieu of when a holiday falls within the week at flat rate, since these workers are constant five days employees and would be off for the holiday.
However, with the advent of the “National minimum wage for regular working hours (for all workers in Guyana) order”, the workweek was fixed at 40 hours from five days, however, the Collective Labour Agreement between GuySuCo and GAWU stated that the employees’ workweek is between Mondays through Fridays; therefore, Saturday’s earnings was treated as a premium day, if they worked all the days required through Mondays to Fridays.
As a result of the new agreement, 55 workers stand to benefit and will receive retroactive payment.
Following the engagement between the two sides, a meeting was also held to explore enhancing the partnership between GuySuCo and GAWU in an effort to improve the production and the productivity of the Corporation. Both management of the Corporation and the Union have agreed that it is in the best interest of all parties to ensure that the Estate’s target for the second crop is achieved, so that market commitments can be met fully.
General Secretary of GAWU, Seepaul Narine and the Union’s representatives have committed to intensify their drive to increase production and productivity. This is likely to have a rippling effect in boosting the economy of the local communities.
That meeting was also attended by local GAWU representatives from the cane harvesting and factory workers.
