Enmore sugar workers strike

Aug 27, 2009 News

– Wales estate remains closed

The Wales Sugar Estate, which remained closed yesterday.

Sugar workers at Enmore downed tools yesterday as another quarrel erupted with management over labour costs. It represented a new low for the struggling sugar industry, which is now experiencing a seven-day strike at Wales, which has resulted in a drastic decision by management to cease operations there until it can get the cane cutters back in the fields.
The industry is already reeling from massive losses and was looking to boost production this year. The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), which manages operations across the country’s eight sugar estates, last year recorded a $4 billion loss and started this year owing its creditors $3 billion.
The strike at Enmore continues today unless a dispute over pricing could be resolved.
Today, the Wales Sugar Estate remains closed as up to late last night there was no headway to resolve the grievances between workers and management.
Last evening, the main workers’ union, the Guyana Agricultural & General Workers’ Union (GAWU) was still awaiting a meeting with GuySuCo to thrash out issues which led to its closure and to get the some 1, 700 workers back on the job.
What stands in the way of a resolution? A mere $40.
The workers claim unfair working conditions, namely the fact that they cannot harvest the cane effectively, since the fields have not been cleared of vines, grass and bushes. As a result, they cannot produce enough for a proper day’s wage, given that they get paid for the amount of cane they cut.
The Corporation had offered the workers $130 extra on a day’s pay for the troubles they face in harvesting the cane. However, the workers demanded more – a total of $660. The Corporation then suggested $360, and the Union counter-demanded $400. However, GuySuCo has been reluctant to raise its offer by $40 and as a result the workers continued to strike.
Then, GuySuCo dropped the bombshell Tuesday that it was closing the estate and sending all other workers home.
GAWU President Komal Chand said the estate’s management did not dictate to the workers the exact reason for the closure of the estate since another problem had developed on the cane fields Monday evening.
A fire of unknown origin destroyed 13 hectares of cane, but GuySuCo has been careful not to point its finger at workers.
Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation Errol Hanoman told Kaieteur News that he had no evidence that the fire was set by workers. However, he was sticking to the story of the estate’s security that the fire was deliberately set.
Hanoman put the estimated loss of sugar at 60-65 tonnes. It did not appear that the case of arson, as GuySuCo put it, would be part of the discussions for a resumption to work. He told Kaieteur News that with there being no cane cutters, there was obviously no cane to grind and so management was forced to order the temporary closure of the estate.
The Wales estate employs about 700 cane harvesters. But not all of them went on strike on August 20. Two of the three gangs of cane cutters first dropped their cutlasses, but within three days the other cane cutters, along with other field and factory workers threw their weight behind the cause of the striking cane cutters.
Hanoman said that the Corporation was dissatisfied with the strike action taken by the workers since the proper grievance procedure was not followed.
According to GuySuCo, as per the grievance procedure, the workers should have stayed on the job while their representative(s) and the union tried to resolve the issues with management.
The temporary closure of the estate sets back key targets for sugar production.
The Wales Estate had set a second crop production target of 16,081 tonnes of cane sugar. As of last Saturday, production stood at 3,745 tonnes.