The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is maintaining that the established process for employee promotion at the Blairmont sugar estate was not followed in the recent appointment of a former manager of Rose Hall Estate as an artisan.
“They (sugar workers) allege that the recently employed worker was given a promotion while other workers who have been in the estate’s employ for some time and have sought promotion are not being similarly treated,” the union had explained last week when protest action began at the estate.
The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) in turn noted that in light of the claim by the striking workers that some were overlooked for the position, management requested from the union a list of the names of those who claimed to be overlooked.
“So far, at all the meetings with management, the union officer and shop stewards have failed to identify any of the persons who claimed to have applied for reclassification in adherence to the corporation’s Regrading and Reclassification Scheme and were denied,” it, however, noted.
Further, according to GuySuCo’s the estate’s records indicate that no employee applied through the Scheme to be upgraded in 2017 and only three electricians applied in 2018.
In a statement yesterday GAWU said that factory workers have resumed protest action following an unsuccessful meeting between the union and GuySuCo on Monday.
The union maintained that the corporation failed to advertise the vacancy as required by their own personnel manual therefore preventing other qualified workers from applying and being considered.
“The workers also pointed out that the Corporation would usually advertise opportunities for promotion to allow interested and qualified workers to apply. In this case, the workers shared this wasn’t done…in fact during a visit to the factory by union officials we observed a dated notice informing of a vacancy at the estate,” the statement said.
Additionally they accuse company management of declaring it the “right” of the company executives to veto the policy.
“It brings into question the usefulness of this and any other policy and agreement if it can be ignored and altered at the whims and fancies of those who are charged with upholding them,” the union stressed arguing that the unusual nature of these actions was made clear by both old and current vacancy ads displayed on the factory site including a notice asking interested workers to submit applications to be tested for purposes of promotion.
The administration of this test is at the root of the discord between the union and the corporation with GuySuCo maintaining that the promoted worker was recently tested and the union stressing that no evidence of this has been presented to them even though a request for same was made.
The union is also arguing that workers have applied for promotion over the years with the expectation that their applications would be kept on record and considered when opening arose. The corporation however maintains that the union has been unable to present evidence of these applications which it stated were not received.
“The workers who applied had faith in the Corporation’s systems [and] unfortunately did not keep copies of the application forms submitted,” the union stressed.
“The GAWU/GuySuCo engagement ended with the Corporation maintaining that it would not alter its decision regarding the promotion,” GAWU shared while explaining that an added request that all interested workers apply to be tested to be promoted had left worker upset and incensed.
“They failed to recognize how the Corporation, on one hand, could seemingly accept that a wrong was perpetuated but yet, on the other, unwilling to right the wrong,” the union stated adding that GuySuCo, by its unfortunate stance, is serving to affect its production drive.
GuySuCo has previously stressed that the impact of the strike action has been “devastating” during a critical second crop period.
“The strike continues to have a devastating effect on the corporation’s output and financial position when it is already in a critical state with limited finance to pay wages and salaries,” GuySuCo said in a statement yesterday.
The corporation further noted that due to the strike 329 punts of canes are in the mill dock waiting to be processed, while 347 punts of burnt canes are in the fields waiting to be loaded. “Some of those canes were burnt since Sunday, October 13, and are deteriorating in quality and the Corporation will be unable to recover the sucrose (sugar),” it added.
GuySuCo also pointed out, that just a few weeks ago, the GAWU, in a press release, criticised the corporation for not achieving its second crop sugar production targets. “The ongoing strike will now compound the situation as critical opportunity time to complete the 2nd crop is being lost,” it noted.
Further the corporation noted that as a result of the strike, the routine factory maintenance that is normally done on Mondays has been delayed until the employees resume work.
