Latest update February 20th, 2025 12:39 PM
Blairmont sugar workers shut down estate
…demand removal of Estate Manager
By Leon Suseran
Hundreds of sugar workers attached to the Blairmont Estate, West Bank Berbice converged in front of
GAWU Field Secretary Hardyal Ramdiyal
the Administrative Office and protested for the resignation of the Estate Manager, Mr Corbette Victorine.
The protest, which began shortly before 08:00 hrs, yesterday, resulted in the total shut down of the estate.
Several categories of workers, including Harvesters, cultivators, factory and workshop operators among others, held up placards and shouted “The EM must go!” ; “The EM must respect workers!”; “Workers’ contributions must be respected at all times!” and [President] “Donald, look at Blairmont!”.
The workers said that the Estate Manager has been using a “dictatorial” style of management and thus they have been shortchanged with regards to work conditions and payments.
Harvester Representative from Gang 62, S. Ragubeer, stated, “The estate manager lately come here and we used to have a lot of benefits before [he came] such as obstacle benefits in the harvesting fields, standby payments for firemen;, all them things he want to take away from people so we ain’t choose to work along with him.
“We want another estate manager or we will not get production going at this estate”.
He noted that the manager “never wants to hold any meeting with the reps to discuss anything.”
“The workers choose that they don’t want him and don’t want to discuss with him. They padlock the estate like a prison, and we don’t want to stay in prison, we are not prisoners…massa day done,” he said.
“We used to get $40 for obstacle payment and this estate manager now implemented $20”. Every time a worker encounters obstacles such as vines, bushes, etc, while cutting cane they were normally paid $40 per obstacle.
Vickram Singh, of the 6B2 Harvesting Gang said that “this estate manager is trying to de- recognize the union ad we are not going to allow that”.
“They locking all the gates and keeping workers inside and they have to get gate passes now, and the customer practice…they’re slashing the people’s payments”, he noted. “We’re not going to accept that; if they want to cut costs, let them cut costs from the top and come to the bottom,” he noted.
“GuySuCo provides a big house for the estate manager and yet everyday he drives from here to Buxton (where he resides) and burn about 50 gallons of gas per week. Who go pay for that? All that is cost! You cannot destroy money at the top level and get we here!”
Workers protesting
“The managers that we have here—we ain’t want them!”
Shaik Baksh, another representative, argued that “when you do task work, you have to get pass to leave the compound…If there is any fire or emergency, you have to get a pass to leave the estate compound. We want to remove the padlocks! The customer practice must remain and let good sense remain “, he stated.
Customer Practice, in estate terminology, talks about several workers’ benefits to which they are entitled. The workers noted that many of these benefits are now being compromised.
Baksh said that many clauses in the Agreement are being breached and they are not satisfied with how the estate manager is behaving.
“Even a piece of rope, 10 to 12 feet in length– the rope that the cane cutters use to tie the punt to the parapet to avoid an accident, this piece of rope this manager taking away now from workers”.
Mahadai Karamchand, Weeding Gang Rep said that “when they carry you to the back dam and you work, you don’t get transportation…you gotta catch other gangs trucks and come out and he (estate manager) don’t want to listen, he telling you that you lazy or can’t wuk!”
“We don’t want this EM and Field Manager (Anil Seepersaud) because they don’t compromise with you or give you what you suppose to get and how long they ain’t come out nobody going to wuk!”
Padlocked gates to the Admin Office
Kaieteur News made an attempt to solicit a comment from Estate Manager, Mr Corbette Victorine, but was met with padlocked gates at the Administrative Building. The guards said that neither the manager nor any other senior official was present and denied any entry.
Moe than 2,000 workers comprise the Blairmont Estate. About half of those numbers are cane harvesters. The workers want the Minister of Agriculture to intervene in the matter “and hear the cry of the people.”
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