Latest update November 8th, 2024 1:00 AM
Latest News
Strike over as GuySuCo agrees to stay Skeldon worker dismissal
A crippling strike by canecutters in Berbice has ended following continuing negotiations yesterday between the
GAWU’s President, Komal Chand
state-owned sugar company and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).
According to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), a critical meeting with GAWU yesterday, under the chairmanship of the Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, saw an agreement reached on the immediate calling off of the strike and for full resumption of work today.
“Under the terms of resumption, the parties have agreed that conciliation proceedings in the dispute that led to the strike, which was the dismissal of Daniel Steven, will commence on Friday (tomorrow) of this week,” a statement said yesterday.
The agreement provides that there be no victimization by both sides and that the days on which the workers were on strike will be regarded as not available for qualification purposes.
“The agreement further specifies that the dismissal of Daniel Steven will be amended to suspension without pay until the end of either conciliation or arbitration proceedings.”
GAWU’s President, Komal Chand, yesterday said that the union will be meeting with GuySuCo and the other stakeholders tomorrow.
Over the weekend, Steven, a sugar worker, was dismissed from his job after he allegedly slapped the Skeldon estate manager, Dave Kumar. However, sugar workers claimed that the manager was the one at fault and have demanded that the staffer be rehired.
Protest action against their colleague’s dismissal also led to workers reportedly setting fire to tugs fetching some 130 metric tons of cane which were being transported to factories for grinding.
GAWU and GuySuCo had been meeting all week but without any headway. The sugar corporation defended the manager saying it was Steven who started the problems.
GuySuCo’s Director, Jairam Pitam, told this publication earlier this week that workers at the Chinese-built, US$200M
GuySuCo’s Director, Jairam Petam
Skeldon Estate, which is located some 100 miles (163 kilometers) outside of the city, walked off the job on Monday and set alight already-cut cane stalks. Pitam said that both the union and GuySuCo walked away empty-handed following the meeting on Tuesday.
It is estimated that several thousand of US dollars worth of cane had been burnt, but Chand says that all is not lost since it is the ideal time for reaping. He said that some of the cane burnt in the fields could still be used.
The strike has also affected power to Berbice and Demerara as the Skeldon co-generation plant had been affected.
The Guyana Power and Light Inc. said it was forced to implement scheduled blackouts as another engine in Kingston had failed over the weekend. The situation is expected to be resolved by this weekend.
The strike action would come at a bad time for GuySuCo as it is already struggling with a run of poor production, as a result of poor turnout and a host of technical and market issues.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A lesson from the bread lines of America
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- If the American elections of 2024 delivered any one lesson to the rest of the world, it... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
