GuySuCo is better equipped to significantly ramp up land expansion at Skeldon, but private farmers are currently making more progress and moving at a more rapid pace in developing the lands, the Guyana Agricultural and General Worker’s Union (GAWU) said.
In a memorandum to the Arbitration tribunal, which recently ruled for a 3% a wage hike in the industry, GAWU said that critical field expansion at Skeldon estate is lagging. The union said expansion was only 1,500 hectares out of 4,685 hectares between 2002 and 2008. It said too that the requisite infrastructure and the primary and secondary networks to facilitate 1,500 hectares were not established to allow for accessibility and drainage of water, “a pre-requisite for any land development”.
GAWU said in the absence of the drainage network, the additional lands had to be drained using the estate’s existing drainage network, which it noted was not fully capable of draining the enlarged cultivation. As a result, the estate’s entire cultivation was saturated in the rainy seasons for long periods to the detriment of the cane population, according to the union. The union also found that expensive laser land levelling equipment was hardly used for almost two years reportedly because some components from two manufacturers were not synchronizing.
But while GuySuCo is lagging, private farmers are making progress, the union said, noting that the farmer’s lands are developing under the principle of having the necessary infrastructure and drainage networks in place before land clearing and associated activities start.
According to GAWU, there is the other issue of the resources now required to overhaul 1,800 hectares land from ridge and furrow layout to flat (broad) bed layout, costing approximately $450M, “not taking into account already utilized resources and millions of dollars from sugar sales had the 1,800 hectares produced the normal five cycles- one plant and four ratoons”.
Defects
GAWU also noted in its memorandum that the new state-of-the-art factory at Skeldon, an intended turnkey project, has failed to perform, so far, in keeping with its design capacity.
The union quoted from a report conducted earlier this year on the factory by an expert from Tate & Lyle, H.B Mohar saying that the factory has significant design and engineering defects.
Further, it said that the Skeldon Modernization Project has suffered its fair share of mismanagement and “needs to be put right”. The union observed that the twin punt dumper at the factory is performing far from satisfactorily, adding that it has only managed to lift and discharge canes at just about 50 percent of its rated capacity of 350 tonnes cane per hour. “When the fields in 2011 provide the 1.2M tonnes of cane required to produce 110,000 tonnes sugar per year, the punt dumper, unless significantly modified or replaced, would be found wanting”, the union added.
On the issue of wages, the union argued that GuySuCo has a duty to ensure that workers are treated fairly and receive decent terms and conditions of work, “if they are to remain in sugar production and promote our premier agricultural enterprise”. GAWU noted the high turnover in the industry which it attributed to poor pay and harsh working conditions, adding that this has contributed to the migration of agricultural workers from the rural fields to the city and within the wider Caricom region. GAWU also referred to the turnaround plan for the industry saying that the plan could falter without a committed workforce. “The workers and the Union have already pledged to work for the successful implementation of the plan.
The Union calls upon the Corporation to keep the workers on Board”, the union added.
