GuySuCo offers 2 to 5 percent back pay

Nov 10, 2010 News

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Race against time…

– cane in field, but poor attendance dogging performance

With eight weeks remaining in the year, the news for the country’s sugar industry remains bleak with the demand for estates to produce an average 10,000 tonnes weekly if its revised target of 264,000 tonnes is to be met.
However, with workers attendance at an all time low at 54%, it is more than likely canes that were planned to be harvested this year will now have to be looked at in 2011.
This is according to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), which yesterday described the state of affairs of the entity and said that it could only pay 2% if the target is not met.

The Corporation also, in a proposal to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) yesterday, said it is willing to pay up to 5% once a 270,000 tonnes target is achieved.
GuySuCo and the union were scheduled to meet yesterday but a wage increase strike involving over 600 workers at the Enmore estate saw the Corporation pulling out, indicating that it is unwilling to talk under duress.
Instead, the Corporation sent GAWU a letter outlining its wages and salaries increase proposal.
Yesterday, GAWU’s President, Komal Chand, indicated that the union, which has been calling for a 15% across-the-board raise for all its members, will not be commenting in any detail on the proposal until a meeting scheduled for tomorrow.
Meeting
GuySuCo, in a statement late yesterday afternoon, said the its proposals were contained in a letter addressed to GAWU’s General Secretary, Seepaul Narine, as a planned meeting yesterday between the two was cancelled.
“The Corporation had hoped to propose an offer to the Union today (yesterday). Unfortunately, a strike by harvesters at Enmore estate which is in its third consecutive day over the current wage talks, frustrated the hosting of the meeting.”
The Corporation disclosed that GAWU agreed to cancel the meeting “as it would have been deemed to be held under duress with Enmore harvesters still on strike.”
Sugar workers, accustomed to knowing what their ‘traditional back pay’ is around this time of the year, have been unsettled with no concrete words from the Corporation.
But GuySuCo yesterday continued to stress its indebtedness and low production as the main reasons for negotiations failing to move from its rut.
“The Corporation at the last three meetings on October 12th, 15th and November 3rd, 2010 reaffirmed its state of indebtedness, caused by low sugar production experienced in the past five years.”
During this period, GuySuCo said that the Corporation failed consistently to meet its production targets, the reasons for which have “been well ventilated”.
Huge debt
“However,” the Corporation warned in its statement yesterday, while it “has managed to gradually reduce its level of indebtedness, the outstanding figure remains substantial. Repayment of these debts, meeting our wages and salaries costs and maintaining all aspects of our increased production drive in the field and factory is very much dependent on the Corporation attaining a production level of at least 264,000 tonnes sugar for 2010.”
The Corporation pointed out that a senior GAWU official had indicated on November 3rd, at the negotiation meeting held at LBI, that the canes available this crop, if harvested, could yield at least 270,000 tonnes sugar in total for the year.
“GuySuCo is equally aware that the achievement of 270,000 tonnes is an attainable target, provided that all canes could be harvested. The availability of canes in the 2nd crop this year points in the direction of a turnaround trend in the sugar industry.”
GuySuCo noted that it has repeatedly illustrated to the union that the low rate of attendance, which for the crop to date is 54%, has been the main contributor, apart from the frequently wet periods, for the crop’s production lagging so far behind.
“If the turnout was at the 80% level as estimated in our budgeted numbers, production would have been approximately 40,000 tonnes sugar, more than what has been achieved for the year to date. In this scenario, there would have been little threat of carrying forward canes to the first crop 2011, which at the moment is seemingly imminent.”
As of Monday, overall sugar production figure stood at 190,754 tonnes, more than 70,000 tonnes that would have to be produced in the coming weeks.
“Against this precarious production and financial backdrop, the Corporation urges the union to strongly consider its proposal for a 15% increase in pay this year; since it is clear that the industry’s ability to afford the proposed levels of increases is strained beyond its limit.”
2 per cent
The Corporation proposed that if this year’s production is 270,000 tonnes sugar or more, an across-the-board increase of 5%, effective from 1st January 2010, will be awarded.
“The percentage across the board increase will be reduced to 3 % if production is between 260,000 and 269,000 tonnes. Further, if production drops to 250,000 tonnes, a one-off, non-sustainable, increase of 2% will be awarded.”
According to the GuySuCo statement yesterday, with only six weeks remaining before Christmas, the industry is facing approximately a deficit of 73,000 tonnes sugar to date.
“…to achieve the latest target of 264,000 tonnes, the Corporation has informed the Union that there will be a break in operation for two weeks to facilitate the festive season and the industry will then continue the 2nd crop 2010 in the 2nd week of January, 2011.”
GuySuCo yesterday also called for the union and its workers to “understand in earnest the reality which currently confronts the industry and reaffirm their commitment to work together with the Corporation towards achieving our targets.”
Over the past few years, GuySuCo has been facing a series of strikes, with a major cut in price by its largest customer, the European Union.
The Corporation last year announced a turnaround plan but even a new, modern factory at Skeldon, and increased acreage being placed under cultivation, failed to change its fortunes.

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