Sugar workers to receive Weekly Production Incentives

Thousands of workers employed by the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s three operating estates will now receive Weekly Production Incentives (WPI), commencing with this first crop.
In a statement on Thursday, the sugar company noted that the incentives would be paid by March 20, 2021. WPI is one of several initiatives in place to boost employees’ productivity.
This incentive was implemented on May 13, 1989 replacing the monthly bonus initiative, which was paid for achieving the estates’ set weekly production targets. It was stopped two years ago, but the hiatus has now ended.

At the Blairmont and Uitvlugt Estates, some 3600 qualified employees are expected to receive an additional two days’ pay as WPI, having surpassed their weekly production targets on March 5 and March 12.
Similarly, at Albion Estate, 3300 qualified employees will receive one day’s pay for surpassing their weekly target on March 5, 2021.  Albion’s recent achievement has brought an end to its WPI drought experienced since 2019.
The payment of a WPI is based on the individual estate’s achievement of 100 per cent or more of its weekly target. Once the targets are achieved, qualified employees on the estate will receive one day’s pay. If the estate’s achievement is 130 per cent or more of its target, then qualified employees on the estate will receive two days’ pay.
“Qualified employees will be receiving their WPI along with other incentives as the Corporation forges ahead with production to achieve the first-crop target of 42,608 MT (metric tonnes0 sugar,” GuySuCo revealed in its statement.
According to Chief Industrial Relations Manager Deodat Sukhu, “The employees are aware that in order to qualify for this incentive, they have to work, at a minimum, four days of the week. It is noticeable that when we have built momentum and the factories achieve their targets, the motivation that you have from that momentum continues to drive the operational chain of the industry and the likelihood of having an incentive achieved and paid as the momentum continues over the following weeks.”
Mohamed Rafeek Yusuf, a long-serving cane harvester at the Blairmont Estate opined that the WPI provides encouragement to hardworking staffers to continue along this line.
“It boosts the workforce to come out in large numbers. It is a way of improving production. You find over the years when the WPI was not being achieved, the turnout get very poor, people lose interest of the work. The WPI will boost production and turnout. I feel it is something good. I believe strongly this is good,”  he said.
Another cane harvester, Sachin Sooknandan added, “It will be better for us; we are going to be more motivated, because my colleagues are already talking about working harder to make the day’s pay. This is really nice and we are glad if it can continue so it will benefit the people in the country. I feel really good what the Government is doing and what we getting right now is really good.”
In order for the Corporation to achieve its sugar production target of 42,608 metric tonnes within the cropping period of 12 weeks, Albion Estate has to produce 21,573 metric tonnes; Blairmont – 12,404 metric tonnes and Uitvlugt – 8631 metric tonnes.
At three weeks of production, some 10,135 metric tonnes of sugar were produced.