Sugar workers step up protest action over retroactive pay hike

Hundreds of sugar workers mounted a peaceful protest outside of the Ministry of the Presidency on Tuesday, calling for their salary increases to be retroactive as of January 2019.
This comes in light of a deadlock between GuySuCo and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) with regards a consensus for sugar workers’ salaries to be retroactive.
At the protest line, GAWU’s General Secretary Seepaul Narine stated that the Union wants the increase offered by GuySuCo to be retroactive from January 1, 2019.
“We had the meeting with them on Friday and it was Friday that GuySuCo told us that they have made some representation and this is a matter that needs to be addressed by the Government.”
He further stated that “this is a matter we have been talking with them not now for three weeks we have been talking and at our very first meeting, we have indicated that whatever we agreed to this is a continuation of 2019 and not 2020. They agreed with us and from what I can gather from the GuySuCo management, they seem to be in sympathy but like I said, they said to us this is a matter that needs to be addressed by the Government.”
The Union, during the protest, reiterated its call for an agreement on an acceptable period of retroactivity, but the Sugar Corporation is unmoved.
“In the first instance, the increases had to be addressed by them and they had to be conscious that whatever we are talking, we are talking about 2019, we haven’t even submitted our proposal for 2020 but GuySuCo wants to do another thing or wants more in a wake of discrimination and disrespect to say that it is 2020 and not 2019,” Narine underscored.
The workers’ bargaining agent further highlighted that GuySuCo has agreed to pay a five per cent increase in wages from March 1 – one day before the workers head to the polls to cast their ballots for a party of their choice. In fact, during the protest, GAWU was greeted with tight security which they believe is to silence them on the road to justice and fairness.
“We saw what transpired as yet another attempt to still the workers’ voices who have confronted assault after assault by the incumbent Administration. Indeed, in our view the large security operation was not required since at no time did the protesters pose any threat whatsoever and, therefore, the extraordinary and excessive measures were uncalled for altogether.”
In November last, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder said that the sugar workers may not be benefiting from any wage increases due to the financial situation at GuySuCo.
Additionally, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan had stated that any pay increase must come from the Board of GuySuCo. However, the unionist is contending that the Finance Minister along with Government did nothing to improve the lives of the sugar workers but did more harm than good.
“The Minister is known for talking, but that is all he is good for because he has never match action with words. We had no increase in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, this is part of the negotiations for 2019 and the decent thing one would have expected is that we would have settle off in 2019 and clear this scorecard,” Narine stated.
The workers at the picketing exercise stated that the President has the authority to issue the retroactive salary and as such, they are calling on him to do so since they are in dire need of it.
“We are out here protesting for retroactive payment for 2019 January. Sugar workers have not been paid wage and salaries increases since 2014 – five years now we have not received a wage increase,” Rambeer said.
Another cane harvester, Anil Sammy, who is employed at the Blairmont Estate, echoed the same sentiments.
“Since 2014 we don’t have a wage increase – five years now we haven’t had a wage increase, so they decide to give us five per cent for first of January 2020 so we are protesting here for it to be retroactive as of January 2019.” Sammy outlined.