‘Top-heavy’ GuySuCo management discourages workers — GAWU President warns

Apr 21, 2021 News

– CEO Singh says company undergoing human resource audit

GuySuCo CEO, Sasenarine Singh.

Kaieteur News – President of the Guyana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Seepaul Narine, is warning the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) and its newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sasenarine Singh, that the practice of ‘top-heavy’ management will soon run the industry into trouble. Narine gave the stark public warning to Singh on Monday, while a guest on a GlobeSpan24X7 panel discussion with moderators Charles Sugrim and Dr. Asquith Rose.
Expanding on his position, the GAWU President pointed to what he claims to be the recent hiring of some 30 staffers at head office at pay scales above their counterparts in the industry.Narine told the moderators while he has no difficulty with employees getting reasonable conditions, including pay, “one has to compare the equality of it.”

GAWU President, Seepaul Narine.

To this end, Narine noted that “if we continue to employ people at higher pay than those in the system and the established pay grades, we are going to run into trouble; that is my warning.”
Narine cautioned that GuySuCo needs to be careful and said, “Mr. Singh as CEO needs to take account of that and to address it; it cannot be allow to be perpetrated; it will create unfair conditions.”
Cognizant of the need to retain skilled personnel with competitive salaries, he noted that “if you are going to bring others in, then those in the system at that level, also have that value.”
In a direct appeal to Singh, the GAWU President exhorted that the industry has to manage its human resources better and “don’t be top-heavy” since this could demotivate the entire workforce. Notably, he claimed that the employment of additional staffers at increased wages was not done by the Board.

Narine, who has been pressing the corporation to return to the bargaining table with regard to stalled wages and salaries talks, conceded that every benefit to worker is a cost to the business and as such, GAWU has been putting forward proposals to increase revenue generation. He posited that the industry has to pursue a more diversified portfolio by turning to more value-added products such as smaller sized packets of packaged sugar, as against the 120 pounds bags sold traditionally.

Contacted for a comment yesterday, CEO Sasenarine Singh said that it is “unfortunate” that statements related to are being made, particularly because they “are lacking in facts”.
“Those who are making the reckless allegations that there have been a number of new people making the company ‘top-heavy’ have to provide evidence,” Singh said. He related that, at present, the company is conducting a human resource and skills audit at headquarters to see whether there is in fact top heaviness, as inherited from the operations as run under the previous political administration, and whether the corporation has “the right skill sets and persons are placed in the right positions.”

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