-amid threat of major strike
Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir last evening imposed compulsory arbitration in the Guysuco-GAWU wage dispute amid the threat of another widespread strike in the sugar industry and sharp exchanges between the two sides
In a statement last night, Nadir said the move came after conciliation proceedings between the Guyana Sugar Corporation and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union was declared a deadlock yesterday by the Chief Labour Officer.
The Minister in a letter to the two sides said: “Conscious of the threat by the union to go on full scale industrial action which can have serious consequences for the industry, the Hon. Minister wishes to advise that he is (satisfied) that the continuance of the difference is likely to be gravely injurious to the national interest and has decided to impose compulsory arbitration by virtue of the powers conferred upon him by Section 4 (1) (c) of the Labour Act, Cap. 98:01.”
He said members of the tribunal panel will be named shortly.
Earlier in the day, GAWU said it was “astonished” by what it described as the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s “dramatic move” at the end of yesterday’s conciliation proceedings to withdraw its offer of a 3% increase in wages and salaries for this year.
The move by the corporation, according to the union, saw factory workers at Rose Hall Estate immediately walking off the job and forcing the factory to cease operation.
When asked by Stabroek News whether other estates have joined the strike, General Secretary of the union Seepaul Narine said “not as yet.”
In a press release the union said it could not recall any other such “acts of provocation by the corporation.”
Following the corporation’s decision, the union said its team belonging to eight sugar estate locations immediately began to communicate the decision through the use of their mobile phones.
”It was reported that the workers are incensed by the corporation’s move and already the factory workers at Rose Hall Estate have walked out forcing the factory to cease operation,” the union said.
It noted too that the union had sought right up to the end of the conciliatory proceedings to reach a settlement but the corporation “remained obstinate.”
The release said that the union’s delegation opined that the corporation 3% position became unchangeable at this time since the number most likely is identifiable with the government’s position.
Last night, Guysuco issued a statement accusing GAWU of taking the occurrences at yesterday’s conciliation meeting out of context. Guysuco said that when the deadlock was declared the sugar corporation expressed a desire to go to arbitration and it was within this context that the 3% offer on the table was withdrawn.
Guysuco also noted that workers yesterday again went on strike in contravention of the collective bargaining agreement. “Such actions are frustrating Guysuco’s turnaround plans, the implementation of which has commenced”, the corporation said.
The corporation also issued a detailed response to a letter from GAWU which appeared in yesterday’s edition of the Stabroek News. Guysuco said that the letter sends a message which could not be further from the truth.
“We fail to see how the letter and today’s strike action could help the cause of our workers when the company cannot even afford the 3% increase it had on the table”.
On Wednesday GAWU, the main union for sugar workers, said it was asking for a 10% increase for its workers after it was asked to reconsider its initial request.
Last week, GAWU had turned down a 3% 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% increase.
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 the corporation’s action, GAWU called its workers out on a two-day national strike over what it deemed to be GuySuCo’s high-handed approach in the ongoing wage dispute.
The union called off the strike last Thursday. The workers on the LBI estate, however, continued their strike over the failure of the corporation 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 1% would cost the company $150 million, even as it battles to be financially viable.
