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Wales sugar workers entitled to severance benefits

Feb 26, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Fareed Zakaria reminded us of a quote from Alfred Montapert which states; “Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress”. This Granger administration is shaping up to be nothing but a rocking horse administration, one that talks progress but has provided little evidence to show actual progress on many fronts. Today, I refer specifically to the industrial relations fronts.
Workers are entitled under the law to severance pay once their contracts have been changed, discontinued, or the role they previously played no longer exists, at their location of employment. It was the Ministry of Agriculture in a public statement in January 2016 that made the decision that it shall be closing Wales Sugar Estate (WSE) because the management was unable to make the operations of that estate “viable”. This decision materially changed the contract of employment between the workers and Guysuco and discontinued their role at WSE. Under the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act (TESA), in this instance, the workers have a right to a severance package because the location and condition of employment have materially changed. Only an unreasonable person will want to do otherwise.
Under Section 12 (2) (b) of TESA, it is Guysuco that choose to discontinue the services of the workers at WSE in a planned closure decided upon by management. These facts cannot be wished away. It was Guysuco (as the employer) that choose to discontinue the operations at WSE; not the workers. In such a situation, the workers deserve their full severance pay and any other path is a clear violation of their human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as prescribed by the United Nations.
On the protest line, one sugar worker said; “give we (the workers) what we deserve, we want nothing more or nothing less”. This is a fair request and in an era of such a blatant violation of the workers’ human rights, there can be no shame or indignity in mass street action against this decision not to pay the workers fair redundancy benefits.
To expose this hypocrisy in this era of state insensitivity, how can a government find over G$75 million per year to pay just three persons in its sitting Cabinet but does not have the moral fortitude to fork out some $58 million for a one-time payment for the 900 sugar workers who are ready to leave the sugar industry because of this foolish decision from the Minister and the management of Guysuco?
Therefore, I salute the workers on the protest line because there is a real strength in numbers and the time is upon us where all law-abiding citizens ought to stand with these sugar workers. I would like to genuinely borrow the words of Ricky Singh this time around and ask all Guyanese to “light a candle” for our sugar workers.
It is clear as day that since May 2015, Prime Minister Moses Nagamotoo has opportunistically blown his candle out as his administration continues to attempt to intimidate and blackmail the sugar unions into subservience. If the sugar workers fall today, the Guyanese people will fall tomorrow, because the bicycle of the Granger administration has no brakes. They are reckless and continue to administer the affairs of state as if this is some personal show.
We are all in this boat together against the oppressive broadside from the Granger Govt. I am happy with what I am seeing as more and more people are openly choosing a side on the issues since this is not politics; this is basic humanity. The Ministers in the Granger administration should take a 15% pay-cut on their collective G$392 million annual salaries for 2017 and fund the severance payout for the sugar workers if they cannot find the funds to pay the workers. How about that for a solution? After all, I have not even counted allowance and fringe benefits as yet for the power-holders
Sase Singh

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