Albion tractor operators protest slash in payment rates

Oct 04, 2018 News

Workers protesting with placards

Workers attached to the Albion Sugar Factory on Tuesday and Wednesday picketed the estate over a slash in rates. The men who operate tractors in the field are tasked with digging and clearing the “forefoot dam,” that drains the entire field.
Rickram Shrikishan, GAWU field officer attached to Albion Estate said that the workers are protesting because previously, they were given $225 per rod to fill the “forefoot dam” while ploughing.
However, according to him, management made a decision to cut that amount to a meagre $56 per rod. The workers are demanding that the $225 per rod be paid.
According to Shrikishan, “a meeting was held with management a week ago.
These people want to cut cost but the workers will be affected. This is a big difference, from $225 to $56 is a lot.
Their take home will be very minimal”.
Rupal Singh, from the mechanical gang (Village No.8) at the Albion Estate, explained that an individual working “time rate” rakes in more money than he does.
“That affects me a lot because that man doing “time wuk” and me got to tek a tractor and work whole day and he go work fuh more money than me”, Singh argued.
He claimed that the cuts to the rates were done without any consultation with the workers and the union.
Another worker, Nazir Hussain, divulged that they were forced to work per job rather than per time since it was previously “time work”.
“They force us into this job work but there are certain conditions, which we come to an agreement with management and us to do this work. Now new manager come and them changing things and we don’t feel that this is right.
We tell dem, give we 50%; half and half and they don’t even want to give us that. They want 60% and 40% for we, we tell dem to pay us and we going to work and still they don’t want to come to a conclusion”, Hussain said.
He added that they informed management that they will turn out to work yesterday, but when they arrived, they were told that there is no work for them.
The workers are expected to strike for the remainder of the week.

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