– GAWU to reconsider
With less than one month before the March 2 General and Regional Elections, the incumbent Administration has surprisingly offered an increase in wages to workers on the sugar belt – something which they have been calling for over the years.
This offer was made during a meeting on Friday between the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and representatives from the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU). It comes just days after workers staged a picketing exercise outside the Ministry of the Presidency on Tuesday, calling for pay hikes.
In a statement on Friday, GAWU said the day after picketing, an invitation was extended for the Union to meet with GuySuCo officials and during the engagement, the proposal was made.
“…the sugar corporation informed that it approved certain pay increases to the sugar workers.”
However, no information was given about the offer made and according to the Union, it has not accepted it as yet.
“While our Union, at this time, will refrain from disclosing the details as the GAWU and the workers are actively considering the company’s offer, at the same time, it demonstrates that it is only through struggle that the workers and the oppressed will be able to surmount their obstacles and score even meagre gains from the Administration,” the Union noted in the missive.
The Union’s delegation for that meeting comprised of officials and representatives from the various estates.
GAWU went on to outline its suspicious of the proposal for pay hike at a time when the country is gearing up to vote in about three weeks’ time. This comes on the heels of sugar workers being snubbed by the Government when it announced salary increases for the public sector in November last year.
“It did not escape our attention that the offer comes less than a month away from when the workers and their families are expected to exercise their franchise and when there are active attempts to woo their support after years of assault after assault perpetuated against them. While this does appear suspect, it nevertheless demonstrates too the principled-ness of the workers’ actions to be treated fairly and equitably and to live lives where they can afford the basic necessities of existence,” the Union contended.
On Tuesday sugar workers from Uitvlugt, Blairmont and Albion Estates gathered in front of the Ministry of the Presidency to continue their pleas for wage increases, which they are yet to benefit from since 2015 when the APNU/AFC coalition took office.
“It has been a continuous struggle that has been waged since 2015 and one that saw workers, on many occasions, taking part in protest and picketing exercises outside of the sugar estates, the GuySuCo head office, the President’s office and the National Assembly along with those struggles workers as well as staged vigil activities to call attention to their plight and thousands of them also subscribed to a petition calling on President Granger to intervene positively in the matter,” GAWU noted.
According to the Union, the workers were staunch in their demand for a deserving pay increase as they maintained that they were discriminated against.
During the campaign trail leading up to the 2015 Elections, the APNU/AFC coalition promised sugar workers 20 per cent wage hikes together with a “good life”. But after securing the votes from the sugar belt to get into office, the coalition instead downsized the industry to just three sugar estates, shutting down the Wales, East Demerara (Enmore), Rose Hall and Skeldon factories which resulted in some 7000 sugar workers being placed on the breadline.
