Facing GAWU criticism…
GUYANA Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has, in the face of criticism by Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), defended its decision to outsource field preparations ahead of the coming crop which begins at the end of July.
The sugar manufacturer said it is more cost effective because the Private Sector is able to attract better skills by offering more generous pay. Information supplied by GuySuCo yesterday said the rate paid for outsourcing land preparation was developed on the basis of what it is costing to use its own resources.
“In developing the rates, the actual cost of doing the operation, including all overhead costs, were taken into consideration,” GuySuCo said.
It said the company would, normally, maintain a machine fleet to do 20 per cent tillage and replanting of the cultivation each year.
“Over the last four years, because of reduced opportunity days due to abnormal rainfall, the corporation was unable to achieve its annual programme. This resulted in a build-up of old and uneconomical ratoons (cane cycles),” GuySuCo said in an e-mail response to the Guyana Chronicle.
GuySuCo said it was essential that the rehabilitation of the cultivation be fast-tracked.
“To accelerate the land preparation and planting programme, the corporation took a decision to rehabilitate 30 per cent of the cultivation each year, for the next three years, [and] this is in keeping with the Turnaround Plan.
“To achieve such a plan, it was necessary to outsource part of the land preparation programme. In addition to this, we have a very aged machine fleet. Also the corporation is finding it difficult to attract and retain operators for these machines. The Private Sector wage package is far more attractive than what Guysuco is offering,” GuySuCo explained.
During an interview last month, Mr. Raymond Sangster, GuySuCo General Manager, Agriculture Services, said, with the approval of the blueprint, the company, in the second half of 2009, set out on a massive rehabilitation programme for land preparation and planting.
STUDIES
He said various studies, conducted on the operations of GuySuCo, found that inefficiencies in the field were instrumental in the poor performance of the sector over the past few years, when targets, even revised ones, were not achieved.
Sangster told this newspaper that, despite the difficulties presented by the weather, GuySuCo was still able to do 5,390 hectares of planting, representing 83 per cent of the budgeted first crop.
In terms of land preparation, GuySuCo was able to complete 5,019 hectares against a budgeted 6,000, an achievement of some 80 per cent,” he reported.
But President of Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Mr. Komal Chand said yesterday that it is an indictment on GuySuCo that the company cannot match the wages of the Private Sector for the land preparation.
He said the corporation must keep its rates competitive or more and more of its workforce will go where they are better.
“They are now admitting that this is a problem for them,” said Chand, who claimed that the union has pointed out that some of the factory machines not functioning only need spare parts but they are not operated for months.
Chand said GuySuCo has received $4 billion from the Government for capital works and some of this money should be used to upgrade the fleet of machinery.
He said, too, that there must be strong monitoring of the work that is executed by private contractors. “If there is poor monitoring, they will not get the results.”
Chand said the union has no problem with GuySuCo outsourcing field preparation, as a temporary measure with private machines complementing its own.