Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo yesterday met with a delegation of Wales Estate sugar workers over their concerns regarding the payment of their severance package.
The estate’s cane farming operation will close at the end of the year as part of the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) restructuring and 99 workers had opted for severance. GuySuCo has not paid the severance as the sugar unions, GAWU and NAACIE secured an interim injunction restraining the corporation from proceeding with plans to sever the employment of workers on the Wales Estate unless it consulted with the unions in accordance with section 12 of the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act. The unions’ position is that the interim injunction should not hold up the pay but GuySuCo has insisted otherwise.
A release from the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday said that the 11-person delegation sought a meeting with the Prime Minister in order to explain their plight relating to the payment of the GuySuCo severance package.
The release said that the 11 who attended the meeting were Dyanand Sham, Wilbert Daymon, Azeez Khan, Safraz Alli, Sherla Leitch, Lloyd Benjamin, Cyril Joseph, Shafeek Khan, Prem Kumar Lakhan, Mohammed Haniff and Bridgnanan and they represented all 99 workers.
The workers, the release said, explained that GuySuCo officials met with them and advised of the plan to merge the Wales and Uitvlugt factory operations and that they would be offered continued employment at the Uitvlugt estate.
They noted that 99 workers opted not to take up this offer from GuySuCo and to accept severance packages instead. An agreement was made to commence payment of the severance packages starting in May last. The workers noted that shortly before the date on which the severance was to have been paid GAWU and NAACIE obtained an interim injunction which stopped GuySuCo from making the payments.
The workers expressed frustration that several months have now passed and GuySuCo continues to be prevented from effecting the payments by an order of the court.
The release said that Nagamootoo conveyed to the delegation that he had been advised that GuySuCo is prepared to pay the severance and monies have been set aside for same but the corporation could not act in violation of the injunction.
The release said that the workers stated that they had been erroneously advised by union officials that GuySuCo was not prepared to make the severance payments. The workers also said that they had held several meetings with the union officials and pleaded with them for the injunction to be withdrawn to allow for the payments to be made but the pleas fell on deaf ears.
The release said that workers expressed understanding for the need to merge the Wales and Uitvlugt factory operations and said they opted for the severance to get on with their lives.
Wales workers have in the past lamented that no senior government official had visited them to explain the reason behind the closure of the Wales Estate cane farming operation and to advise them of plans for the area. The government had announced the closure of the cane operations in January.
