| – says GuySuCo’s actions tantamount to breach of lawIn a day that was marred by strikes and protests, sugar workers, represented by the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), joined the current countrywide industrial strike.Deeming the actions of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) as unilateral, NAACIE said that it is supporting the action taken by sister union, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), in the quest to maintain the right to bargain.GuySuCo has warned that it may close the operations of the eight estates to save money until the strike is over. However, officials confirmed yesterday that a skeldon staff managed to operate the facilities there to grind several punts of harvested canes that were left when the strike was called last Friday.According to NAACIE yesterday, it has taken industrial action to protest GuySuCo’s unilateral withdrawal of agreement to pay increase of wages and salary to workers. Since 2008, GuySuCo has been basing wage increase on job evaluation and a salary survey process that continued to be discussed up to last week Monday, the union said.NAACIE claimed that on that day, GuySuCo announced that it has ceased basing its wage negotiations on job evaluation and salary survey and will instead be calculating it on actual sugar production.Breach “The company is showing blatant disregard for workers who are skilled professionals and who are academically suitable and properly trained for work in this Corporation. The treatment of workers at present by this company is causing frustration, strikes, absenteeism and low production, yet workers are to be paid from production levels.”NAACIE explained that it has collaborated with GAWU to engage GuySuCo in the struggle to seek audience with the Europe Union and Caribbean sugar producers when the reduction in sugar prices was first announced.“We kept visible interest in the further development of the industry including support for the Skeldon modernisation project,Cheap Soccer Jerseys For Sale, the Enmore Packaging Plant and the upgrade of all factories.”But NAACIE stressed that these developments are yet to become a reality.“The proposal of the company is bordering on a breach of law and will not be accepted by the union. NAACIE is in full support of its members in protest action and calls on the GuySuCo to respect their rights to protect themselves from further exploitation.”Not backing downOver the weekend, GAWU said that it was not prepared to review its decision to call a one-week strike across the sugar industry before tomorrow.The one week-strike, which started Friday, effectively shut down the country’s struggling sugar industry as workers press for a concrete proposal by the sugar corporation for increased wages.GuySuCo’s weekly wage bill is US$1.5 million.The state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has implored GAWU to reconsider its position, fearing severe penalties if it were unable to meet market commitments in Europe and the Caribbean.“Whilst this strike will be in progress, the Corporation will be incurring heavy overhead expenses in some areas,Wholesale Jerseys China, without any revenue being generated,China Jerseys Cheap, and as a consequence it may decide to temporarily cease all operations, except in cases of essential services, until the situation becomes normal,” GuySuCo stated.The strike by the industry’s 20,000 workers was called after GAWU said that the Corporation failed to put a concrete proposal for increased wages on the table.“What they are saying is that the industry must produce 270, 000 tonnes of sugar at the end of the year for them to afford any increase. That is not a proposal; realistically even 250,000 cannot be achieved,” Komal Chand,Jerseys NFL Cheap, president of GAWU told Kaieteur News yesterday.Chand said that the production target cannot be met because of bad weather and the fact that a new multimillion dollar factory at Skeldon in the Berbice region is not operating up to scratch.The US$181 million Skeldon factory was commissioned in August 2009 and was hailed as the boon to the survival of the sugar industry, but GAWU said that the performance of the factory has diminished significantly— from crushing about 210 tonnes cane per hour to between 90 and 120 tonnes, owing to severe worn-out hammers and leaking boiler tubes. The Union called for the factory to be shut down and the defects fixed.The Corporation has called the strike “a mostcallous and blatant disregard for the current state of the sugar industry.”“Such an incident is most unfortunate at a time when the Corporation is making all efforts to turn the industry around by increasing sugar production through increased cane supply,” the Corporation stated.GuySuCo said that it has managed to service its markets and creditors, meet its weekly wage bill which amounts to $300 million on average, focus on the challenges at the Skeldon factory, continued to invest in its fields and other factories to improve production, and increase its mechanisation fleet to reduce the workload on the harvesters.It has also increased efficiency, ensured that the workers’ employment is secured, focused on the daily challenges on each estate including numerous strikes, and tried to work around as best as possible the effects of both the dry (El Nino) and wet weather (La Nina) conditions.The results are that there is enough canes in the fields to even surpass the revised target of 264,Nike NFL Jerseys China,000 tonnes and 2011 will see a further increase in this regard, according to GuySuCo.Whilst this strike will be in progress,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the Corporation will be incurring heavy overhead expenses in some areas, without any revenue being generated, and as a consequence it may decide to temporarily cease all operations, except in cases of essential services, until the situation becomes normal. |
