The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), the main union for sugar workers, is now asking for a 10 percent increase for its workers after being asked to reconsider its initial request. The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), however, continues to offer a three percent wage increase for the sugar workers.
Representatives of the two bodies along with Chief Labour Officer Yoganand Persaud met yesterday as the conciliatory talks continued. Last week, GAWU had turned down a 3 percent offer by the Sugar Corporation.
According to President of GAWU Komal Chand, during this lengthy meeting, GuySuCo asked the union to adjust its request so as to better facilitate an agreement. GAWU was initially asking for a 15 percent increase.
Chand said that the two bodies were yet to reach an agreement and that discussions are scheduled to continue tomorrow.
He said that both bodies hope to reach a conclusion tomorrow, since discussions between the two entities have been ongoing for a while.
Three Tuesdays ago, GuySuCo pulled out of wage negotiations with GAWU after strike action by workers on the La Bonne Intention (LBI) estate. The Sugar Company stated that it would not negotiate under duress.
Following GuySuCo’s action, GAWU called its workers out on a national strike over what it deemed to be GuySuCo’s high-handed approach in the ongoing wage dispute. The union called off the strike on Thursday. The workers on the LBI estate, however, continued their strike over the failure of GuySuCo to set a production target for the workers for last week and explained that this would have prevented them from achieving the weekly production incentive (WPI).
At a press conference following the national strike action, GuySuCo pointed out that a salary increase of one percent would cost the company $150 million, even as it battles to be financially viable.
