In light of the presence of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) wants the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to suspend its operations while providing financial support for its sugar workers. According to a GAWU release yesterday, the Union had written to GuySuCo pointing out that recently, workers have been expressing their fear about contracting the coronavirus. It added that this fearfulness has “heightened” in recent days as the number of persons infected has risen with reports indicating that this number could climb even higher in the coming days.
The Union stated that in its letter, it acknowledged that the Corporation has put several measures in place to allay workers’ concerns, however, while welcome, these have not helped to sufficiently placate the workers’ fears. The Union said it reminded GuySuCo that it is bound both by agreement and statute, among other things, to ensure that workers are protected from hazards whether they are physical or biological and pointed out that workers have expressed anxieties about going to work, not because they are unwilling, but instead seeking to protect their and their families’ health and well-being at this time. It was against this background that the Union urged the Corporation to consider “a temporary cessation of operations.”
In addition to halting operations, GAWU in its correspondence also called on GuySuCo “to provide appropriate financial support to the beleaguered and hard-pressed sugar workers.” It also advised the Corporation “to approach its political bosses to access sufficient financial support to ensure that it can assist its workers in this crisis period.” The letter also observed that the Government is ensuring that all its workers do not suffer any loss in pay and reminded that the sugar workers and their families, are Guyanese citizens foremost, and they, like all citizens, deserve the support of the State at this difficult time.
The Union expressed the hope that the Corporation would “sincerely and soberly” consider its requests while pointing out that GuySuCo has oft repeated that its workers are its most important assets and therefore “should pursue every means to ensure that they and their families are safeguarded and protected at this time.” The Union reminded the sugar company that several other enterprises across the country have taken similar actions to the ones suggested by them and from all appearances, these seem to be the most prudent course at this time.
In the face of the coronavirus threat, GAWU urged all Guyanese to heed the warnings, follow the advice and take all and every precaution to stay safe. “We believe that should we embrace such measures, we can overcome the situation even more quickly and get back to our normal day-to-day lives.”
The Union also said that the authorities need to proactively address what it referred to as “the menacing situation” while stating, “It seems to us that there has been a lethargic approach at a time when our citizens are scared. Clearly, those charged with leading the process, thus far, have let us down and worse yet have put our people’s well-being into harm’s way. This is clearly unbecoming of those who call themselves leaders and seek to masquerade as Government.”
