We look forward to an amicable resolution to this issue

Dec 10, 2017 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

As Mr. Raphael Trotman, the Honorable Minister of Natural Resources said in parliament this week, the AFC remains a committed and dedicated member of the governing Coalition, but would like to see a few things changed.
One such is the situation in the lifeline sugar sector, as it relates to the plight of workers whose services are going to be terminated. The Alliance wants an amicable settlement to this issue as quickly as possible and practicable uncertainty is causing tremendous anxieties among workers and their families.
The Party hopes that good sense prevails from the system of termination, and where it is possible, no more than one member of any family is terminated. We have been hearing reports along these lines.
As well, the Party is insisting that “as the Yuletide season is upon us, workers must not be adversely affected and the offer of severance must be thoroughly detailed and presented to the workers now.” That thousands of workers are being sent home should come as no surprise to anyone. The Guyana Sugar Corporation has been losing billions of dollars each year in recent decades. The entire sugar scenario in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has changed for the worse, as the European Union (EU), which had up to less than a decade ago bought nearly 300,000 metric tonnes of raw cane sugar from producing and exporting member states, no longer does so, because of extensive changes to the sugar protocol.
No longer is the region guaranteed fixed prices and quotas, and the four remaining exporters – Guyana, Jamaica, Belize and Barbados – are all struggling to produce sugar at or below world market prices.
Additionally, the EU from the beginning of last month threw open its market doors to its own Beet sugar farmers, allowing them to step up production. This immediately made exporting to the EU much more difficult for the region to compete in. And while this is going on, our producing estates in Guyana are not turning a profit, leaving the Coalition with little choice but to close some of the poorer performing estates, and to restructure the others.
Since coming to power in May of 2015, Finance Minister Winston Jordan and his team have been forced to advance the company a staggering $32B in grants to keep it afloat. And only late this week, State Minister Joseph Harmon announced that a “huge chunk” of money had been found and set aside to deal with severance issues – welcome news to the AFC.
But even as the restructuring moves forward and gains momentum, the AFC wants those involved to have a human face to the whole situation. Therefore, the party demands the following:- “That as per the requirements in law, severance must be in place. The Party recommends that in addition to severance, consideration must be given to:
– offers of land leases for alternative economic engagement
– access to small concession loans for said alternative engagement
– access to extension services and markets for agro-processing
The Party recognizes that the State Paper on GuySuCo which was laid in the National Assembly in May, outlines certain actions which are necessary and unavoidable if the sugar industry is to be regularized and become sustainable.
The Party is cognizant that GuySuCo has been engaging with the workers and their unions for some time now, regarding actions which are necessary, and calls on GuySuCo to intensify this initiative to ensure that all workers are adequately briefed, counseled and are presented with all the necessary information regarding the future status of GuySuCo and the sugar sector. The Party recognizes that the future of GuySuCo is of paramount importance and the government must continue to pursue those options for the sugar industry, which is not a burden on the national treasury.
The AFC looks forward to an amicable resolution to this issue, but insists that as the Yuletide season is upon us, workers must not be adversely affected, and the offer of severance must be thoroughly detailed and presented to the workers now.

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