More than a year after electrician Ulric Johnson was electrocuted at the Skeldon Sugar Estate while cleaning a transformer in a boiler, his family said they were offered compensation by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
While GuySuCo has stated that the settlement was mutually agreed to, the family noted their dissatisfaction with what was offered.
Johnson, 23, of Leeds, Number 50 Village, Corentyne, was electrocuted while cleaning a transformer in a boiler at the estate on January 27, 2014.
When contacted recently, GuySuCo’s Human Resource Director Jai Petam said that the company and the family had mutually settled the matter after a meeting.
However, Johnson’s mother Wendella Johnson, told Stabroek News that she was contacted by GuySuCo with the offer of compensation after this newspaper carried a story about her waiting for more than a year to hear something from the corporation about a settlement.
Johnson said on February 2, 2015, she went to GuySuCo’s Ogle office, where she met with officials and was subsequently given compensation. Although she did not disclose the amount she was offered, Johnson expressed her dissatisfaction with the settlement. Moreover, the woman said she is still not clear on the circumstances surrounding her son’s death.
In response to an enquiry about the investigations into the accident and recommendations, Petam told Stabroek News that the company has reinforced safety procedures for employees on the job.
Johnson was wearing protective clothing (a helmet, gloves, safety overalls and boots) at the time of the accident and was said to have had approximately five years of experience in the field.
