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GuySuCo rejects claim employee’s transfer politically motivated
Safraaz Birbal
Kaieteur News – The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) on Tuesday rejected reports that the recent transfer of employee, Safraaz Birbal, a field superintendent at the Albion Estate was politically motivated.
In a statement, GuySuCo said it has taken note of the many editorials, Facebook posts and comments regarding the recent reassignment of Birbal, who was transferred from the Albion to Uitvlugt Estate.
“The corporation rejects the insinuation that this decision was politically motivated or related to Mr. Birbal’s personal affiliations,” it said in its statement.
According to the corporation, despite being a state-owned entity, GuySuCo is governed by its own internal operational policies and not by any political or electoral agenda.
“Mr. Birbal’s transfer, effective July 28, 2025, forms part of the corporation’s strategic path and more so, its human resource strategy geared at strengthening operations across all estates. Due to his vast experience, being a field staff for over 22 years, coupled with his technical skills, which are urgently needed at the Uitvlugt Estate, he was identified for the reassignment,” the corporation explained.
GuySuCo noted that this is not something uncommon or outside of its routine operations, and is based solely on operational needs and capacity building. The company further reported that the transfer of senior staff, which includes field superintendents, from one location to another, forms part of their conditions of employment in keeping with the corporation’s policy to rotate managerial staff across estates to ensure operational efficiency, skills sharing, and continuity of management practices.
“As our CEO, Mr. Paul Cheong has affirmed: ‘This is a normal practice in the organisation. Staff (members) are regularly moved between estates to build capacity and share expertise. Mr. Birbal was selected because of his experience and skills, which are needed at the Uitvlugt Estate,” the statement disclosed.
Relating to moving employees, the corporation stated that it provides accommodation to support staff and their families during such transitions.
Further, GuySuCo informed that, “this decision was not made without consulting Mr. Birbal. Officers of the human resources department engaged him and discussed the need for his skill set at the Uitvlugt Estate, which saw him agreeing and accepting the transfer with no mention of feeling victimised or unfairly treated by the corporation. In fact, Mr. Birbal was elated to showcase his skillset at another estate.”
Additionally, the corporation said it remains committed to upholding the principles of fairness and professionalism in all aspects of its operations and that it respects the constitutional right of every employee to support a political party of their choice, “and we strongly oppose any form of victimisation or discrimination on political grounds.”
Birbal had claimed in earlier reports that his transferred to another estate was a result of him throwing his support behind the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, which is led by businessman Azruddin Mohamed.
According to a Stabroek News article dated July 19, Birbal in a telephone conversation with the news agency, said his support of presidential candidate Azruddin Mohamed resulted in a clear case of victimisation as it is not the norm for superintendents to be transferred. Instead, higher ranking employees are usually the ones to be transferred with accommodation in the company’s compound.
The Stabroek News article further reported that Birbal said he was ready to pursue every legal and constitutional avenue available to him including filing formal complaints with the Ethnic Relations Commission, Guyana Human Rights Association, and the Carter Center, among others.
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thanks for info.