The main sugar union GAWU yesterday said that thousands of field and factory workers at the various sugar estates are in a state of agitation after they were told that their customary Holiday-with-Pay (HWP) – one-week will not be paid this Friday.
According to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) in a press release, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) had written to the union on Friday last informing that it will be unable to make the payments to the workers because of cash flow problems.
HWP is payable two weeks after an estate closes its crop and therefore, the Albion, Rose Hall, Enmore, Wales and Uitvlugt Estates ought to be ready to pay workers their HWP tomorrow because grinding had already ceased at those locations, according to GAWU General Secretary Seepaul Narine.
Meanwhile, grinding continues at the Skeldon and Blairmont Estates and as such workers at those estates will become eligible for the HWP two weeks after the end of the crop.
The letter from GuySuCo stated “As you are aware by practice, qualified workers are usually awarded Holiday with Pay no more than two weeks after the closure of a crop. Toward that end, those estates which ceased grinding during week-ending May 11, 2012 should be effecting payment of the award on week ending 25th May, 2012. Unfortunately due to our unfavourable cash flow situation, we are not in a situation to make that payment.”
The GAWU press release yesterday charged that the core reason for GuySuCo’s consistently poor financial state is its failure to attain, even close, its production targets. The union noted that at the end of last week (May 18) GuySuCo only produced 70,027 tonnes of sugar out of its target of 101,813 tonnes.
The release further stated that even if the weather had been favourable, those estates that had already ended their crop did not have the quantity of canes to assist meaningfully in realizing the crop’s target.
GAWU stated “A source advised if the seven (7) grinding estate had been facilitated by good weather to harvest their entire crop no more than 84,000 tonnes of sugar would have been obtained.”
GAWU said that GuySuCo is unable to adopt a strategy whereby it could effectively use its human, mechanical and other resources to harvest its (first) crop within the weeks of favourable weather condition.
The union added that it is the Corporation’s responsibility to review its management practices to ensure that maximum production is realized and should not blame its workers. GAWU wants the Corporation to secure financial support “from whatever legal source” to pay workers their HWP wages, and for them to identify a positive date of the payment.
A strike over the nonpayment initially began on Monday at the Enmore Estate but ceased yesterday. However workers at the Wales and Uitvlugt estates began their strikes yesterday demanding that they be paid tomorrow.
