Sugar workers are to receive a boost with the payment of weekly production incentives following a gap of two years.
The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) in a release yesterday stated that thousands of sugar workers across regions 3, 4, 5 and 6, at its three operating estates are to receive Weekly Production Incentives (WPI) and other incentives for the 1st crop, 2021 by tomorrow.
WPI is one of several initiatives in place to boost employees’ productivity. It was implemented on May 13, 1989 replacing the monthly bonus initiative which was earned by achieving the estates’ set weekly production targets. According to the release, the payment of a WPI is based on the individual estate’s achievement of one hundred per cent or more of its weekly target. Once the targets are achieved, qualified employees on the estate receive one day’s pay. If the estate’s achievement is one hundred and thirty per cent or more of its target, then qualified employees on the estate receive two days’ pay.
At the Blairmont and Uitvlugt estates, some 3,600 qualified employees are expected to receive an additional two days’ pay as weekly production incentives having surpassed their weekly production targets on March 5 and 12, 2021. Similarly at Albion Estate 3,300 qualified employees will receive one day’s pay for surpassing their weekly target on March 5, 2021. Albion’s recent achievement has brought an end to its WPI drought experienced since 2019.
According to Deodat Sukhu, GuySuCo’s Chief Industrial Relations Manager “The employees are aware that in order to qualify for this incentive they have to work at a minimum four days of the week. It is noticeable that when we have … momentum and the factories achieve their targets, the motivation that you have from that momentum continues to drive the operational chain of the industry and the likelihood of having an incentive achieved and paid as the momentum continues over the following weeks.”
And at the Albion Estate, the release said that Safety Officer, Kiwani Park, explained that the WPI is an excellent initiative for both corporation and workers and expressed elation at the achievement of the incentive after a long time. He opined that the WPI serves to motivate the workers to push harder. “So I encourage the workforce out there to come out in their numbers work hard as possible and you know of course it will be more disposable income with an extra day pay. I am really happy that the estate is back on track and not only Albion Estate but Blairmont and Uitvlugt are also in the position of achieving WPI”, he said.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Rafeek Yusuf, a long-serving cane harvester with over 41 years of dedicated service at Blairmont Estate, opined that the “WPI is a great thing in the estate. It boosts the work force to come out in large numbers. It is a way of improving production”, the release stated.
Also looking forward to receiving the upcoming WPI pay, Sachin Sooknandan, another cane harvester, who has served for more than eight years in the industry, said “I just received a day’s pay and this is something real good and it will benefit me and my family. It will be better for us; we are going to be more motivated because my colleagues are already talking about working harder to make the day’s pay.”
In order for GuySuCo to achieve its sugar production target of 42,608 metric tons (MT) within the twelve-week cropping period, Albion Estate has to produce 21,573 MT, Blairmont – 12,404 MT of sugar, and Uitvlugt, 8,631 MT of sugar.
As at week ending March 12, 2021, (three weeks of production) some 10,135 MT of sugar was produced, the release added.
