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GuySuCo responds to GAWU’s assertions

Apr 21, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) wishes to clarify statements made recently  by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) in sections of the press,under the  title ‘15 Wales’ sugar workers sent to Uitvlugt, 105 fired’. This release by GAWU is the epitome of GAWU’s mischievousness and can be construed as being provocative, since it is a deliberate attempt by the union to misrepresent the facts, as part of a sinister agenda.
Firstly, the Corporation wishes to state that the Wales Estate will not be closed but is currently undergoing a process of transition from primarily a sugar cane cultivation and sugar production entity, to an establishment that will be producing other crops. This estate was identified as the location for the pilot project for the diversification programme of the Corporation.
The 105 employees that the Union has reported as having been “fired” are employees who were offered employment opportunities at the Uitvlugt Estate but have opted for severance based on advice, allegedly from the Union. GuySuCo would like these employees to know that the option of securing employment at Uitvlugt is still open to them, should they decide to remain in the employ of the Corporation. In addition, during the period of issuing the notification for severance, the Corporation is continuing to counsel those persons and encourage them to accept available positions at Uitvlugt.
The 67 temporary employees who were mentioned in the press release issued by GAWU,were engaged with the Corporation on a crop- by -crop arrangement, hence at the end of the 2ndcrop in December, 2015, the engagement naturally came to an end. Therefore, at the beginning of January, 2016, they were not re-engaged since there was no work that required their services. These temporary employees were in the Crop Husbandry section. However, the temporary employees in Harvesting and other job areas have been re-engaged until the end of 2016.
The Corporation met with GAWU and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) on January 20, 2016 and the relevant workers from February 1 – 3, 2016. The Unions were also provided with the list of persons who opted for severance as stipulated by the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act (TESPA). Further, a correspondence of notification was sent to GAWU on March 22, 2016along with the list of employees who opted for redundancy in accordance Section 12, Sub-section (2)of TESPA. The Union was also informed that the employees were individually informed in writing and, these correspondences were copied to the Chief Labour Officer at the .Ministry of Social Protection.
The Corporationis of the view that GAWU is confused as to its role as a workers representative body and that of GuySuCo, as the employer. It is the prerogative of the employer to transfer its workers to locations where skills and expertise are most needed and as the Corporation deems suitable within reasonable consideration and as is convenient to the employees.
Finally, GuySuCo is again extending its friendly hand to GAWU to come to the table and engage the Corporation with a more rational posture and assist in finding solutions to the myriad of challenges being experienced by the Corporation, since such engagement would be of invaluable benefit to GuySuCo, its employees, the Unions and other stakeholders, particularly at this point.
Audreyanna Thomas

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