Dear Editor,
The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. is surprised by what seems as a deliberate attempt to manipulate the facts and create instability for our workers attached to the Diamond cultivation.
The Corporation wishes to reaffirm its position regarding the future of workers attached to the Diamond Cultivation, in light of the continuation of allegations made by the main opposition PNCR, which can only be deemed as unhelpful to the process of creating a stable industrial relations climate in the Industry. The Corporation is already on record at numerous public forums, categorically denying any notion that workers at Diamond will be made redundant. This is unthinkable, even more so given the fact that there is an acute shortage of labour on our East Demerara Estates.
Rather, the workers have been relocated to the LBI Estate and are being compensated for the extra travelling time to and from this location. What this actually indicates is that despite the current challenges, the Corporation remains committed towards ensuring the jobs and benefits of all our workers are secured.
During this period, a committee was set up between GuySuCo and the workers’ unions – GAWU & NAACIE, inclusive of representatives from the Diamond workforce to examine the continued viability of our cultivation in that location. GuySuCo is also surprised at the accusation that the Corporation is silently scaling down its operations at all the Demerara Estates, when in fact we have also publicly outlined efforts to expand our cultivation on the East Demerara Estates; while extensive rehabilitation of our West Demerara Estates is also ongoing. It is public knowledge that the East Demerara factories have been working well below their respective capacities and the plan of the Corporation is to consolidate our workforce to improve production and thereby improve the economic fortunes of the two Estates. In concluding, the Corporation would like to repeat that it has a well thought out plan to return the Industry to financial viability.
This plan has been the subject of meetings with the unions representing our sugar workers’ – GAWU and NAACIE, who have been engaging the Corporation in discussions regarding the future of the Diamond employees; whose interest they have been representing vigorously.
The Guyana Sugar Corporation is therefore encouraging all stakeholders to support its effort to return the Industry to viability in the interest of the nation and for them to refrain from any actions which could frustrate this process.
Yours faithfully,
Mahendra Roopnarine
Public Relations Officer