Tillage operators at the Wales Sugar Estate began strike action on Wednesday to oppose the proposed change in the beginning of their working day and it continued yesterday.
However, Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) official Aslim Singh told Stabroek News that the workers are expected to resume work today following a meeting with senior GuySuCo officials sometime during yesterday.
The strike action was sparked after GuySuCo made a proposal to change the beginning of their working day from 6 am to 7 am, since it is the out-of-crop season.
“Our field workshop opens at 7 am and if they come to work for 6 and their machines are in the workshop that means they have to wait one hour before they become productive, which is not beneficial to us since they will leave at 2 pm,” Manager of the Wales Estate, Devindra Kumar, explained during a telephone interview.
Kumar said that during the out-of-crop season, the workers normally engage in other activities because there is hardly any tilling in the fields. He said the tillage operators usually engage in activities such as carpentry, machinery and road building among others.
“When we made this decision we were keeping in line with the labour agreement with the union which is to give these workers 5 days of work, 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week,” Kumar said.
Singh told Stabroek News that initially GuySuCo was uncompromising, but the workers were determined to stand their ground on the working time. He said they met officials from GuySuCo yesterday after the strike to determine a possible solution.
Singh said the workers acknowledged the fact that it was out-of-crop season and there is not much activity, but were opposed to the change in working hours.
The workers said GuySuCo’s proposal did not have their best interest at heart rather it was conceived out of spite. They insisted that their working hours remain the same noting that whether the time changed or not the same amount of work was being done.
After a further meeting with officials yesterday it was agreed that the workers should return to their jobs while management decides on the next step. It was also agreed that if the issue cannot be resolved at the estate management level it will be referred to the central level.
