Following days of tense negotiations the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) have finally decided on the terms of resumption that will see sugar workers back at work after a five-day strike.
During a meeting yesterday at the Labour Ministry, GAWU and GuySuCo agreed that workers must be back on the job by today and the dismissal of Stephen Daniels from the Skeldon Estate be amended to a suspension pending a full investigation.
“This agreement to withdraw the dismissal letter is not as much as we wanted but this has set the stage for it to be resolved,” GAWU President Komal Chand told Stabroek News.
He expressed frustration that Daniels’ suspension would be without pay but did say the union was pleased that the terms agreed that the worker’s dismissal could not be executed without further investigation.
A GuySuCo statement on the resumption said the agreement provides for no victimisation by both sides and that the days on which the workers were striking will be regarded as not available for qualification purposes.
Stabroek News was told that GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer Raj Singh was part of the meeting yesterday but left prior to the conclusion. Attempts to reach Singh have been unsuccessful.
Chand stated that on Friday the union and GuySuCo would meet for conciliation and he hoped that within the week the union would see the issue resolved and Daniels’ suspension lifted.
Under the terms of resumption, it was agreed that all strike action would cease with immediate effect. Since the decision was made to strike on Saturday by Skeldon workers, Albion and Rose Hall workers also went on strike and those at Blairmont were due to join today. Chand stated that every day a different estate would have joined the strike to show solidarity until the terms of resumption were agreed upon.
He said that it was unfortunate that “GuySuCo allows issues like this to get out of hand” and asserted that the solidarity expressed by sugar workers has showed GuySuCo’s management that workers will not be taken advantage of. “They have been forewarned; issues have to be addressed objectively and everything taken into account before decisions are made,” Chand said.
Chand said GuySuCo was forced to “buckle” due to the Berbice blackouts resulting from its inability to supply the national grid from Skeldon. Guyana Power and Light Inc has been engaged in load shedding in Demerara and Berbice since Sunday in part because of shortfalls in expected imported energy from Skeldon and unavailability of output from its co-generation facility.
Chand also reported that the situation reaffirmed “solidarity” among sugar workers.
The union has alleged that on Friday night Skeldon Estate manager Dave Kumar was intoxicated and engaged in a heated verbal exchange with Daniels. Daniels told this newspaper that while reporting the episode to his supervisor, he was again approached by Kumar, who allegedly rushed at him. He said he attempted to bar himself and accidentally struck Kumar, who claimed he was cuffed. Another verbal exchange took place and the manager at that point called security guards to escort Daniels off the work site. Daniels was served with a dismissal letter the next day.
GuySuCo, however, has denied the allegation that Kumar was intoxicated. It said Kumar, during his usual night visit to the factory and mill dock, met a group of workers, including Daniels, who were malingering in the vicinity of the mill dock. It said Daniels became abusive toward the estate manager after he told him to report to his workstation.
Chand had previously stated that tension was high among workers, many of whom had complained about issues with Kumar in the past. He noted that after discussions with workers on Sunday, GAWU was made privy to many workers’ frustrations with the estate manager and other members of management. He said that the meeting on Friday will be GAWU’s opportunity to air the various concerns workers have with the current estate management.
The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana and the National Association of Agricultural, Clerical and Industrial Employees have indicated their support for GAWU and its ongoing efforts to represent workers’ rights.
Stabroek News understands that since the strike action on Saturday, workers have trickled in and the Skeldon Estate was able to grind the 1,130 punts of cane that were docked. Workers were also able to retrieve the 35 hectares of burnt cane.
