Diamond sugar workers to receive Gy$300M severance package

President Bharrat Jagdeo has announced a Gy$300 million severance package for workers of the disbanded Diamond sugar estate, saying this was a better option than for them to wait for a court procedure that could drag out for years. Sugar workers are expected to receive their payour by June of this year.

He made the commitment during a meeting with the workers, who had filed a class action lawsuit against GuySuCo demanding severance pay.

Speaking to hundreds of sugar workers at the Diamond Secondary School on May 17, Jagdeo said: “By the end of next week, the government will give GuySuCo the Gy$300 million. GuySuCo will then work with your union representative to sort this out; but I expect, if I give them the money by next week, they should have an early payout,” the president explained to the eager workers.

He insisted that their services will, however, still be needed as the sugar company seeks to increase its production target. The workers were told that they had to travel to La Bonne Intention (LBI) estate to work following the closure of the Diamond estate.

Junior managers, cutters, shovelmen, weeders, and transporters are eligible for the payout, and could get as much as $1.2 million per person, depending on their in-come and years of service.

The head of state took the opportunity to explain to the sugar workers the financial plight facing GuySuCo, noting that its survival has been based on continuous government interventions. “GuySuCo is in very deep trouble,” he added. President Jagdeo made reference to the current state of the sugar industry as a whole, and the huge sums Guyana continues to lose after the European Union imposed its 36 per cent cut on the price for the commodity.

Meanwhile, Jagdeo spoke on the comments made by presidential candidate of the People’s National Congress Reform, David Granger, that he would privatise GuySuCo if elected. “It is clear he (Granger) doesn’t understand the realities of the economy,” Jagdeo added, noting that the retired brigadier has no experience in the field.

“I would like to get out of state-owned media, state-owned petroleum distribution, state-owned sugar. I don’t think this is the concern of the state… I don’t think there is any place for state ownership of those things anymore; certainly not under David Granger,” the PNCR candidate said while addressing a business luncheon organised by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) on Wednesday, May 11.

Granger, however, later clarified that his suggestion is in no way meant to put workers on the breadline.

“I think the workers will benefit more,” Granger said. In attempting to contextualise the comments, the PNCR presidential candidate said an expansion of private cane farming could be the answer to the problems of low worker turnout and poor management. He believes that GuySuCo is a business and should be operated as such, shunning political appointments to the board. “I am trying to implement the professional over the political,” Granger added, while opining that a privately-operated facility does not mean less people will be employed.

Speaking on this issue, president of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union, Komal Chand, told the sugar workers that those preaching privatisation should not be regarded as friends of the industry. Last week, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) had reacted to Granger’s comments, saying it does not support the privatisation of the sugar industry, as it will do the industry more harm than good.

FITUG said experience has shown that privatising several companies in Guyana was a mistake. “We won’t support that at all.”

Ray of hope

Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud told the Diamond workers that Guyanese workers in any sector are “of paramount importance to the president, government and party”. He insisted that the visit and commitment of the government are beyond politics. He pleaded for the workers to be optimistic, even in the face of challenges.

Persaud said there is a ray of hope, as GuySuCo hopes to achieve a first-crop target of 100,000 on Thursday, May 19. But the subject minister is worried that poor worker turnout will continue to hamper progress. According to him, the current level of turnout is a mere 45 per cent. This must be improved. If the cash-strapped sugar corporation is to achieve its 400,000 tonne year-end target, then several issues, including worker turnout, must be addressed, he insisted. Better management is also said to be part of the improvement plan. Sugar workers have downed tools on numerous occasions, hoping for a government intervention.