Strikes, low turnout crippling sugar production – GuySuCo

With some 146 strikes resulting in 18,130 man-days lost for the first crop, the Guyana Sugar Corporation on Monday said it is experiencing serious cash flow problems, which will affect its ability to pay workers the Holiday With Pay Incentive.

In a release, the sugar company said that of the 18,130 lost man-days, 11,700 were lost at Blairmont estate. GuySuCo said if the man-days had not been lost an additional 7500 tonnes sugar could have been produced, which is equivalent to Gy$ 1200 million in revenue.

In addition to the strikes and low turnout, the corporation said that the first crop this year was also affected by inclement weather, with rainfall of 57 per cent above the long term mean (industry average rainfall – 1251 mm against a long-term mean of 718 mm), which have contributed to low production.

The corporation had estimated, based on the availability of canes at the beginning of the first crop, 101,800 tonnes of sugar will be produced.

GuySuCo said its failure to make the projected production has created an unfavourable cash flow situation that compelled it to inform the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) on May 18, 2012 that it will be unable to make Holiday with Pay allowances to workers on time, on those estates that have brought their crop to a premature end, due to the inclement weather. Except for Skeldon and Blairmont, all the other estates closed their crop on May 11. The corporation did inform GAWU on May 18 that once the cash flow situation improves, the payout will be made.

The average turnout of harvesters this crop was 52 per cent. This low turnout contributed to extremely low grinding hours per week in the factories.

Optimally, a factory is expected to grind not less than 130 hours per week for better recovery and factory time efficiency.

Unfortunately, only Rose Hall Estate has been able to grind an average of 100 hours per week. The other estates were grinding 75 to 100 hours per week.

During inclement weather, sogginess of the soil prevents the Bell Loaders from operating because of soil compaction, thus harvesters have to be assigned to manual cut and load, rather than stacking canes for the mechanical harvesters. Harvesters are reluctant to do cut and load and prefer to return home; as such, burnt canes are left to deteriorate in the fields for days.

Some 214,100 tonnes of canes remain to be harvested and would have to be harvested in the second crop; however, the canes would not yield the same amount of sugar as they would be much older. If all the canes were harvested this crop, production would have been closer to the projected targets and adequate revenue would have been available to pay the workers on time.

“The corporation again urges the union and the workers to work together to increase turnout and decrease man-days lost due to strikes, so that the current situation does not repeat itself,” GuySuCo said.