Fear of losing cash sends scores of GuySuCo workers to GAWU HQ

Jun 16, 2015 News

Fear of “losing out” has led more than 300 Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) workers to assemble simultaneously at the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers (GAWU) Union Co-operative Credit Union Society, Kingston yesterday.

GAWU President, Komal Chand

The workers were concerned that they would not have benefitted from the union, in light of the fact, that the union has ceased business with GuySuCo with respect to the credit union members of the corporation.
Late last month, GAWU advised its members across the sugar industry that it had requested GuySuCo to cease deductions from workers’ earnings, Credit Union savings with effect from week-ending May 30.
GAWU had said that the regrettable, but unavoidable decision had been prompted by GuySuCo not remitting workers’ savings to the Credit Union contrary to the extant Agreement between the Credit Union and the Corporation.
As at the end of April, this year, GuySuCo failed to provide a huge sum of over $154.4M which represents workers’ savings for five months. GuySuCo promised the Credit Union some payments not later than the third week of May, but did not make good on its promise.
Yesterday GAWU President, Komal Chand, explained the situation being faced by the union and said that the hundreds, who occupied the premises, were there to ensure they got what was owed to them as it was taken out of their pay.
He said that GuySuCo is yet to pay over any of the $154.4M plus that was owed as at the end of April.
He said that it is usual that many of the workers would save their monies by this means so as to get it in a lump sum when needed for a particular project, “whether to fix their stairs or paint their houses,” while some would collect a monthly cheque.
The Union President said, “It is natural. If me and you get our money in the bank and we hear that the bank is going to close we are going to be

Some of the workers who waited until the afternoon for their cheques while others lined up inside.

the first persons in the morning to see if we can get our money…So I understand and that is what we anticipated. We were able to borrow money in front so when we write the cheques they would not bounce.”
Chand said that the fact that GuySuCo did not hand over the money it collected on a monthly basis, “is immoral and illegal.”
He added that GuySuco has apparently used the money to deal with day to day expenditure.
Chand said that the decision had to be made to cease business with GuySuCo would no longer have this obligation to workers, despite not receiving the money from GuySuCo.
The Union President also explained that GAWU has had to be borrowing money from the bank to pay workers for the last five months. He said that the Union decided it could not continue along the path of borrowing least it finds itself in trouble.
He said, however, that previous obligations had to be fulfilled. “We had assured them (the workers) that they all are going to get their monies because when we make them members of the Credit Union, we assured that the Union is sound and the money is safe.. so we had to borrow and pay the people.”
Chand said that GuySuCo was to provide the workers’ names and money by mid-month every month but in recent months, only provided the list of names. But equipped with the list of names, GAWU was enabled to satisfy the people who had actually had deductions.
Chand promised to operate until into the night last night to satisfy those who waited for their cheques, but some might have gone away to return today.
Fortunately for GAWU, it did not have to provide money for the full complement of GuySuCo workers as crop closed last month, so many did not work.
Chand endeavored to get an exact amount of the money that had to be paid out but his operators in the Credit Union Department were too busy to provide him with such information. He however, estimated that over $10M had been paid out.
Chand told Kaieteur News that the Credit Union looks forward to receiving as early as possible from the Corporation, the workers outstanding savings so that it can pay off its debts and possibly resume services to the thousands of sugar workers.