Administration’s promises to sugar workers a blatant game of deception

Dec 20, 2018 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

The end of 2018 will bring us to two years since Wales Estate was closed and one year since Skeldon, Rose Hall, and East Demerara Estates shut their doors. As is now public knowledge, the closure of these four estates has seen as many as 7,000 workers losing their jobs and tens of thousands more being affected, whether directly or indirectly. Indeed, it has been a sad period for the sugar industry and those who depend on its operations. The actions by the APNU+AFC Government are poles apart from what they said the Coalition committed to do during the elections campaign.
Moreover, the realities the workers and their families and their communities now confront are starkly different from what the Administration promised when it announced the closure of the estates. From all appearances, it seems that credibility is not something that is held in high esteem for the Administration, taking into account its actions in other areas of national life as well.
In January 2016, the Administration announced, almost out of nowhere, that it decided to close Wales Estate. The bombshell announcement was a complete shock, as the Administration was boasting in 2015 that the sugar industry was on the road to recovery.
In fact, in the months leading up to Wales’ closure announcement, the August 15, 2015 Kaieteur News, reported Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo as saying that “…there was no question of Government scaling down or abandoning the industry”. Those sentiments were reinforced when the Prime Minister is quoted in an article of November 28, 2015 by the Department of Public Information, as saying “[t]here should be no discussion or debate regarding the importance of the sugar industry to Guyana’s economy… in fact we have said this on a number of occasions, that this Government sees sugar as too big to fail.”
On the matter of closure, the Government-appointed Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the sugar industry left little room for doubt when it recommended that no estate be closed pointing out the social ramifications of such a decision.
Indeed, when another section of the media somehow found out and disclosed that the Administration had decided to close Wales on January 17, 2016, it naturally evoked some concern. That nightmare soon became a reality when the Government one day later confirmed that it intended to close the estate at the end of 2016.
In fact, the Administration it seemed was upset that the announcement was prematurely made, as the Government wanted to make the announcement much later in 2016. Nevertheless, being caught on the back foot, the Administration quickly confirmed the devastating news. So terrible was the news, that the January 19, 2016 Stabroek News reported a statement by “Fidell Toney, 69, who sells plantain chips and other snacks, ‘When I hear the estate gon close down, I say is better I dead…’”. It was a clear indication of how much the estate meant to the people and the community.
In justifying its decision, the Administration claimed the factory was old, though it was no older than any of the GuySuCo factories, except Skeldon. Moreover, the GAWU pointed out that the age of the factory was no indication of its functional level, noting that parts and components were replaced and changed over the years.
The Administration also claimed that 75 per cent of the bridges were in poor shape, though many of the bridges were made of concrete. On that score, the Sugar CoI had found that Wales required $166M investment in civil structures, the lowest among all the estates. Government also claimed that the cultivation was in poor condition, but the Administration’s own CoI found that with the requisite investment and appropriate management, the estate by 2025 could produce over 30,000 tonnes sugar.
Workers and the community were promised that all wasn’t lost and alternative ventures would be pursued and it was hoped that “…the first of such projects could commence by October 1, 2016”. There was talk of pursuing rice cultivation, the rearing of fish, livestock and dairy production, orchards and a host of other ventures, though Government and the Corporation were reminded of the terrible results of the past.
The experience of Wales demonstrated that talk is cheap, as October 2016 came and went, and not one venture was in place at that time. Obviously, with egg on their faces, the GuySuCo and the Government quickly scampered and during 2017 converted a section of the former cane cultivation for seed paddy production.
The GuySuCo financial report for 2017 indicated that the Corporation invested $61M in the venture but realized only $10M in revenues, hardly a poster child for the touted initiatives which were to be geared towards “…wealth creation and employment generation”.
Wales represented the birthplace of peasant cane farming. The Sugar CoI report informed that as many as 774 farmers aggregately cultivated 2,674.4 hectares. Farmers were a significant feature of Wales, contributing half and sometimes more of sugar production.
In announcing the closure, the Government said farmers canes would be processed at Uitvlugt and an appropriate road would be built. Today, that road remains a pipe dream, and many farmers unable to transport their canes by public road have simply abandoned their plots.
Today, though two years have gone by, Wales remains a shell of its former self. The community has not yet completely come to grips with the loss of the major employer. Workers and their families have found the situation most difficult, as they are unable to obtain regular employment. For the lucky few who have gotten jobs, they have come to the sad realization that their pay and benefits are far inferior from what they enjoyed as sugar workers.
Given the sad experience of Wales, it was felt that the Administration would have recognized the obvious shortcomings and put a brake on further estate closures. But then the APNU+AFC is not known to conform to conventional wisdom and even before the doors of Wales were tightly shut, the Government announced on the last day of 2016 that it intended to divest Skeldon Estate and to close East Demerara and Rose Hall Estates.
Probably in view of the strong criticism it received regarding the Wales closure, the Administration invited the Opposition – PPP/C – and the Trade Unions in the industry to a so-called ‘consultation’ exercise.
Despite the weightiness of the decision, only three consultative meetings were held that covered just a few hours. During those engagements, the Administration bluntly refused to conduct any socio-economic study despite the necessity.
Vice President, Khemraj Ramjattan without hesitation told the Unions and the Opposition that the Government was not interested in such an examination.
Though skeptical, but not daunted, the GAWU advanced suggestions to safeguard the estates then put on the chopping block. The Administration politely thanked the GAWU and said we would hear from them. To date, the Coalition has yet to formally respond to the GAWU submission.
Even the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) said “[i]n a matter of such national importance impacting such large number of workers the process could have been more extensive and more responsive to the concerns of the Applicants [GAWU and NAACIE]”. The Justices opined that “[n]otwithstanding the absence of a statutory obligation the Respondents ought to have given a considered response (whether written or oral) to the GAWU’s proposals explaining why they were not adopted”.
Of course, the GAWU contends that such explanation would have been unconvincing, recognizing that several of the Union’s proposals have been adopted by GuySuCo towards making the industry viable.
When next the GAWU, the workers and the public heard about the proposal was on May 08, 2017, when the Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder tabled in the National Assembly the “State Paper on the Future of the Sugar Industry”. That paper did not deviate one millimeter from what the Government said on December 31, 2016.
In fact, that paper made no mention that there was a consultation held in the first place and only served to confirm that the Administration had made up its mind before it engaged stakeholders and it was just a ritualistic window-dressing exercise the Government is known to engage in.
Through the State Paper, the Government said “[e]mployees are to be leased land by GuySuCo to engage in crops…” This commitment was reiterated by none other than Prime Minister Nagamootoo who, according to the January 27, 2018 Guyana Chronicle, is reported to have said “[w]e want a model where sugar workers will be able to have at least one acre of land if you want to plant alternative crops…”.
To date, not an inch of land was given to any worker. The GAWU during an engagement with the Administration on January 18, 2018 shared with the Government some important considerations in going in this direction. So far, it seems cat has got the Coalition’s tongue on this matter.
In the latter part of 2017, the Administration had a change of heart and decided that it would divest Rose Hall and East Demerara Estates apart from Skeldon Estate. While the rationale for this change has never been shared publicly, as far as we are aware, the Administration nevertheless shut the doors of those estates at the end of 2017 though the divestment process had not yet begun.
As we approach the one-year anniversary of their closure, the estates have largely remained inoperable, with Skeldon and East Demerara estates operating for short periods, mainly in the production of molasses.
As 2018 comes to an end, the divestment is sometime away. The Government had announced that it had as many as 70 interested investors in acquiring the estates. Minister of Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, in a January 26, 2018 Demerara Waves article, is quoted to have said “[w]e got some big companies like Pepsi-Cola”. When the bids were finally open in October, this year, there was just a few of companies actually putting their money where their mouth is. How the process will play out is yet to be seen.
As bitter as the pill was, the workers were denied their lawful severance payments, though none other than the Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder had said that the relevant sums were available. Eventually, after a great deal of confusion, President David Granger announced that the Government hadn’t catered to make the payments to the workers, though the Administration decided to put the workers on the breadline.
The Coalition subsequently paid workers half their entitlements if their payments were in excess of $500,000. Our Union thereafter sought the intervention of the Courts, which agreed the workers were wronged and awarded the workers interest on their outstanding monies.
The Courts’ intervention was also necessary to have the Wales cane cutters being paid nearly two years after the estate was closed. The two humiliating and costly Court losses were unnecessary if the Administration had respected the workers’ rights, but the APNU+AFC has demonstrated, time and again, their scant regard for workers’ concerns and cries.
As the infamous anniversary approaches, the workers, while pleased that they are finally to receive what is due to them, also view the coming months with apprehension, recognizing that their severance payments are finite.
Even if the sums are stingily used, the absence of regular jobs will cause the sums to be exhausted at one time or the other. As the now jobless sugar workers contemplate the future, the GAWU recalls Prime Minister Nagamootoo saying, according to the January 27, 2018 Guyana Chronicle, “…so keep faith, we want you to have confidence in the Government that we will not abandon you, we will not cut you loose, and we will work on all fronts to bring about some benefits so you can start meaningful activities in your life and for your family”.
While we hope the Prime Minister and the Government keep that commitment, we also cannot forget the Prime Minister, prior to his election, saying in the April 13, 2015 Stabroek News, “…while diversification is important to save the sugar industry, it must be done in a manner to ensure that workers on the 16,000-strong payroll are not put out of work”.
Today, for the thousands who have been affected by the decision on sugar, the Christmas Season is most depressing. For many, they are unable to afford the niceties of the season, unable to give their children an inexpensive gift, or to cook a special meal, or to have a holly jolly season. Indeed it is a sad reality of our times, a reality made possible by the deception of the APNU+AFC Government.

Yours faithfully,
Seepaul Narine
General Secretary
GAWU

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