GuySuCo optimistic of surpassing first crop target

– CEO Singh
GUYANA Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) estates, up to yesterday morning, recorded a total production of 64,600 tonnes of sugar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Raj Singh reported.
In an invited comment, he added his optimism that factories will surpass the target of 74,000 tonnes.However, Singh pointed to the industry’s dependency on weather conditions to support the objective of meeting the first crop aim.
For example, he said, workers now have to make do with 80 or less opportunity days, whereas the industry used to enjoy 120 such. Accordingly, climate change adaptation is a necessity.
In addition, Singh said the industry faced its latest hiccup with workers’ relations, which was, fortunately, resolved.
The sugar workers at Blairmont had complained about not being paid and that spawned rumblings of strike actions.
General Secretary of Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Mr. Seepaul Narine told the Guyana Chronicle that the employees’ discontent has been addressed and operations at Blairmont will continue as per normal.
“The workers were supposed to be paid today (Friday). All the weekly workers were paid but the monthly paid workers had a problem at the bank. This has been resolved and they will be paid on Tuesday,” he revealed.
Last week, a small part of the workforce in the industry, within the bargaining unit of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), went on strike but resumed work at their respective estates.
INDUSTRIAL ACTION
GuySuCo was warned that, if salaries which were agreed upon are not paid, industrial action will continue to be pursued by the union.
NAACIE General Secretary, Mr. Kenneth Joseph, in a prior interview with this newspaper, explained that the industrial action, taken on April 9, was in keeping with an ultimatum sent by the union to GuySuCo, informing the management of the intention to do whatever it takes to cause the corporation to pay in keeping with the Norman McLean Arbitration Award and Collective Labour Agreement dated July 8, 2011.
The official position of GuySuCo, said Industrial Relations Head, Mr. Jairam Pitam, is that the Corporation has acted on the pronouncements of the tribunal.
He said: “NAACIE’s demands are outside of the award of the tribunal, which was with respect to anomalies of the Corporation’s pay scale. GuySuCo has fully complied with the tribunal’s award and we are not prepared to concede to NAACIE’s demands, as they are outside of the award.”
The arbitrating body, chaired by retired Major General Mc Lean, was appointed to inquire into the request for the review of the job evaluation agreement between GuySuCo and GAWU.
It was also tasked with inquiring into the request for revision of the July 2011job evaluation agreement between the union and the corporation and to correct anomalies, if any existed, based on the findings.
SEES FIT
Further, it was mandated to enquire into the across-the-board offer of one percent increase for all categories of workers represented by NACCIE for 2012 and to make an award as the tribunal sees fit.
GuySuCo had reviewed 17 anomalies in eight categories, six of which it felt were not worthy of addressing but were, nevertheless, considered. It dealt extensively with 11 of the job categories, which included junior bookkeeper, junior sugar boiler, junior laboratory technicians, senior sugar boiler, senior lab technician, electrical workshop foreman and chemical workshop foreman, field supervisor, head lab technician, process house foreman, and plant maintenance supervisor.
Reviewing those, the corporation, volunteered increases of 10 percent for junior bookkeeper, junior sugar boiler and junior laboratory technicians, a total of 349 employees; a rise of 8.4 percent for senior sugar boiler and senior lab technician numbering 32 employees; increased between 10 and 12 percent the pay for 11 employees who are workshop foreman, head laboratory technician, process house foreman and plant maintenance supervisor and varying increases from 5.1 and 10 percent for another 65 in the field supervisor group.
In summary, those anomalies affected a total of 457 employees which cost GuySuCo $2.74M.
With regard to the across-the-board offer, after a one percent hike for all categories of workers represented by NAACIE in 2012, GuySuCo reported that it is paying 63 percent of its earnings in wages and salaries, which is considered unsustainable.
Before it offered the one percent raise, GuySuCo, in an earlier agreement had awarded two percent for every year of service up to 10 years and an across-the-board payment of five percent in 2011. This contributed to the overall increase in workers’ earnings of between 30 to 38 per cent.
The industry is poised to make its advance and sector stakeholders are encouraged by the production numbers recorded to date for the first crop of 2014.
DEEMED QUINTESSENTIAL
In the 2014 Budget, the National Assembly approved a $6B allocation for GuySuCo, which is deemed quintessential to the industry’s turnaround, in that it is expected to cover expenditures that include conversion of 2,500 hectares of land for mechanical operations, which will be done at a cost of $1.1B and tillage and replanting of 9,200 hectares costing $1B.
Both undertakings are towards improving cane production and yield while upgrading of all sugar estates would cost $2B and works on field infrastructure to improve field-to-factory access, besides purchasing of equipment, tractors excavators, bell loaders and more would account for the remainder of the allocation.
The sugar industry employs approximately 16,000 people during its peak periods and facilitates about 1,500 cane farmers. It is also the nation’s largest net foreign exchange earner and a large proportion of its multi-billion-dollar revenue is circulated locally, thus enhancing many business enterprises.
Moreover, villages and communities surrounding the sugar estates also benefit from the industry’s expansive drainage network.
Government has said that, despite its challenges, the sugar industry remains relevant to the health of the national economy.
In 2013, sugar valued at US$112.2M accounted for 8.3 percent of total exports and the industry contributed 3.9 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
By Vanessa Narine

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