Dear Editor,
The Finance Minister has declared that the diversification of the sugar industry is on hold. We have heard nothing more about the privatisation of the closed sugar estates. They have said nothing about the $30 billion loan burden they placed on GuySuCo; the people of Guyana are totally in the dark regarding what happened to the money, while more than a billion dollars have been paid in interest.
Sugar workers and the sugar industry are under siege. Guyana’s sugar industry, like those in other parts of the world, does have its difficulties. But sugar remains an important part of Guyana’s economic and social welfare infrastructure. Guyana’s sugar industry still has a critical role to play in a Guyana that hopes to solidify its status as a high middle-income, middle-development country.
In the foreseeable future, poverty will rise without sugar, oil or no oil. It is sheer idiocy to downsize or to close sugar.
As a new election is imminent, the future of sugar is a make or break issue for political parties.
Presently, sugar workers at Albion are on strike. Not only is the Albion Sugar Estate an important business entity; the village economy, with its small businesses, such as market vendors, grocery stores, the taxi drivers, the seamstresses, barbers etc, usually ground to a halt when sugar workers are off the job.
These sugar workers, like sugar workers at Blairmont and Uitvlugt, have had their wages frozen at the 2014 level. After more than four years, under APNU+AFC, sugar workers have not had any wage increase, none for 2015, none for 2016, none for 2017, none for 2018 and none so far for 2019. It is not a surprise that these sugar workers are agitated and taking action to highlight their plight.
But the now five-year long frozen wage increase issue is not the only problem affecting sugar workers. In the case of the Albion Sugar Estate, there was the recent arbitrary increase in the weekly target from 2,100 tons to 2,140 tons. The arbitrary increase in the production target is intended to rob sugar workers of their weekly production bonus by making it difficult to impossible to reach the target. In the meanwhile, certain category of workers have had their payment for certain tasks downgraded and working conditions made more onerous. The situation at Albion is no different at Blairmont and Uitvlugt.
The frozen wage increase and the erosion in other benefits come amidst an upcoming general elections, when these workers expect they will hear promises like the ones they heard before the 2015 elections. After four years in Government, after seeing the importance of sugar, with the backdrop of punishing poverty in the communities surrounding the closed sugar estates, one would have hoped APNU+AFC would have a conscience.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Leslie Ramsammy
