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Sugar workers stage protest over LBI estate ‘closure’
Some of the disgruntled sugar workers yesterday during their protest
Early yesterday morning, dozens of sugar workers who have been employed at the La Bonne Intention (LBI) for a number of years, staged a protest over the ‘closure’ of the estate.
The workers gathered outside the gates of the estate expressing their disgust at not only their employers but their union as well.
Several of the protesters who spoke with this publication said that some two weeks ago they were informed that the estate was on the verge of closing, and as a result they would all be sent to Enmore.
One man explained that he has more than 20 years of service and would rather take his severance pay and leave, since the Enmore Estate does not have the capacity to facilitate himself and his colleagues. The man, who asked not to be named, said like his workmates he was told that he needed to do an interview at the Enmore Estate and he would be issued with a letter.
“Dey just send people to the interview and telling you dey closing, so we got to report to Enmore Estate from the 20th”.
Kaieteur News understands that the workers were also promised free transportation. Many of them contended that there is nothing wrong with the LBI Estate and that the Enmore Estate is much smaller and there is no way that they all can be accommodated there.
“We not going nowhere; dey got to pay we off right now. De money dat we getting cyan even look after we family. We decide not to fight up with dem for raise of pay because we were afraid of the same close down talk. Now is the same close down ting we dealing wid. Wha’ gun happen to people who got more than 10 or 15 years? Dey want to just send we over to Enmore and use we for another couple of years and then get rid ah we,” one worker lamented.
A female worker told this newspaper that she has been working at the LBI estate for 22 years and is a single mother of six.
“Minibus fare gone up, bread gone up, cost of living going up, and we are not getting no increase…these people need to tell us exactly what is going on, one time they telling us that they merging and another time they closing.”
The woman stated emphatically that she will not be used by the government anymore, and would rather take her severance pay.
Those protesting also spoke of the fact that they felt betrayed by their Union and opined that the body did not make any recommendations on their behalf.
“GAWU is a sellout. Dey are de ones who supposed to be representing us and dey are not. This Government really thinking? Dey closing down a factory dat producing and dey spend billions on a tourist site ‘the Skeldon factory’ wha cyan even begin to produce!” one male protester stressed.
Another man noted that they were told that the next move is to contract persons to cut the cane.
“Dey tellin’ we dey cyan increase we salary but yet dey could find money to pay outside people fuh cut cane.”
The sugar workers insisted that they will not stop protesting until their demands are met.
Meanwhile, Paul Bhim, Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation in an invited comment said that the entire issue was fully dealt with by his company and the Union.
According to Bhim, in recent times the company and union were in discussions as the company saw it feasible to close the LBI estate. The CEO explained that as it is now, the LBI and Enmore estates are not being used to their full capacity, so the company saw it fit to use only one of them.
“Both factories are grinding about 70 hours per week, which is not to the fullest capacity. We don’t have people to harvest, so we are sending the workers to Enmore so the workforce there will give us better production.”
He went on to explain that the closing of the factory only means that no grinding will be done at the location, but instead cane will be harvested and sent for processing at the Enmore estate.
“With both functioning at half their capacity it is incurring cost that can be slashed if only one factory is used.”
Bhim added that the protest action came as a shock to the company since the union was actively involved in negotiations and some workers even agreed. He explained that it was only when the truck turned up for the workers that they knew that the workers were not interested in going to Enmore.
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