By Alva Solomon

THE Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuco) has been ordered by the High Court to cease its plans to send home Wales Sugar Estate employees until the sugar entity consults the sugar workers in keeping with the law. The ruling was made on behalf of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) yesterday. GAWU is represented by its General-Secretary, Seepaul Narine, while NAACIE’s President Kenneth Joseph is representing that body.
An application for a similar injunction was filed in the courts last month; however, Judge Roxanne George denied the application on the grounds that it had not indicated any urgency.
In court documents seen by this newspaper, the unions noted, “We verily believe that the Respondents are deliberately excluding us from negotiations so that they can exploit and manipulate the workers.”
The motion was filed by Attorneys-at-law, Anil Nandlall, MP, Manoj Narayan, Sasha Mahadeo and Rajendra Jaigobin, on behalf of the two unions.
The matter will be heard between Justices William Ramlal and Diana Insanally and according to the court documents, the unions want the High Court to award damages of more than GYD$1 million for breach of statutory duty owing under the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act, Cap.99:08, Laws of Guyana.
In January this year, citing economic reasons, GuySuco made known its intention to close the Wales Sugar Estate. The decision by Guysuco was met with various protestations by the sugar workers and private cane farmers among other stakeholders. The unions noted that the sugar corporation, as promised, has not informed the two bodies of any venture which will replace sugar cultivation and production, the names of the workers of the Wales Estate who will be re-deployed to Uitvlugt Estate on the West Coast of Demerara and the names of the workers who will be rendered redundant.
According to the court documents, while GAWU has been formally notified on May 22, 2016, of the names of the employees who have opted for redundancy in keeping with the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act of 1997, NAACIE said it has not received any such or similar correspondence.
GAWU and NAACIE argued that if GuySuCo continues to fail to consult with their trade unions, the “workers are not receiving the best available option, terms and conditions.”
In January, GuySuCo announced the closure of the Wales estate, noting that the investment required to refurbish the sugar factory was significant and it simply did not have the finances to maintain the factory.
GAWU had noted the effects the estate’s closure would have on the persons who worked there, including 2500 workers and their dependants.
The Government, nevertheless, is contending that “diverting funds from the other estates to keep Wales afloat would seriously jeopardise the future of all estates. This cannot be allowed to happen.
“It is impossible to make sugar production at Wales viable. This is made worse by the gloomy outlook for sugar prices for the foreseeable future. Wales Estate is projected to make a loss of (between) G$1.6B and $1.9B in 2016. This, coupled with the extent of refurbishment needed, renders this estate prohibitively costly to maintain,” the Government’s statement on January 17 lamented.