Skeldon cane-cutters strike again

…GAWU calls for engagement with GuySuCo

Cane-cutters attached to the Skeldon Estate have downed tools for the third consecutive day in protest against the “haughty attitude” of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
As such, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is calling for engagements with GuySuCo, a call which continues to go unanswered.
According to the Union, the sugar workers are protesting against a sudden and unannounced withdrawal of a long-standing practice whereby they would receive extra payments proportionate to the tasks which they complete.
This has been the system for many years, and as such, the workers have opted to down tools to defend their rights.
“If it were the case that the corporation had wished to change the practice at Skeldon, certainly it could have engaged the Union and the workers in discussions to reach an amicable solution in the nine months the estate was not operating,” GAWU said.
The Union remarked that the corporation has chosen to employ a “wreaking ball” attitude in addressing issues related to the sugar workers.
According to another report, some 55 cane-cutters were allegedly forcefully taken into the cultivation field on Saturday.
It is customary that the workers from different villages are transported to the Baker Shop Dam order line in Berbice, where the number of workers is recorded by the relevant managerial personnel before they are finally transported to the worksite.
However, on Saturday morning, these said workers were taken into cultivation without any notice, and their demands for answers were futile.
Seven workers reportedly disembarked the moving lorry, and another six walked out from cultivation when they arrived there.
Presently, the Union is making efforts to intervene with the GuySuCo at a central level, to arrest the situation.
“The Corporation is seeking to engender the workers’ protest actions towards its own nefarious ends. Certainly, with sugar production lagging far behind the set target at this time, the Corporation is obviously looking for a scapegoat to cover up its poor management,” GAWU said.
As such, the Union is calling on GuySuCo to revert to the status quo, and to commence engagements with the Union and the workers to reach an amicable solution.