THE Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL) have agreed to several terms for workers to resume duty, ending a two-day strike at Mabura.

This is according to a GAWU release issued yesterday.
According to GAWU, the terms of resumption agreement includes workers returning to work after the union would have called off the strike. There shall be no harassment or victimization of workers by either side; there shall be no break in service; the company shall provide 19 hours of electricity during the hours of 5.00 pm (17:00hrs) to noon; and within a period of three weeks, the company shall restore electricity for the full 24-hour period per day.
While the GAWU has confirmed that there is full resumption of work, DTL’s Managing Director Anthony Young, when contacted, declined to speak to the media. However, he referred this publication to the Demerara Waves online media site for any information needed on the issue.
Workers at Demerara Timbers Limited’s (DTL) Mabura Hill location continued their strike until last Thursday, hoping that the company would restore round-the-clock electricity.
Last Wednesday, they downed tools and picketed the operations there, but according to one worker, no one from management held any talks with them.
GAWU President Komal Chand, during an interview with the media, had expressed hope that with return of the DTL Managing Director, Anthony Young, the issue would be resolved. Chand had said that GAWU had been advised that the old power generation  plant was consuming a lot of diesel, but that appeared to be a poor excuse for the DTL action, because that system was being used for some time now.
Workers who live on the premises had complained that, for several weeks, they were only getting two hours of electricity each in the morning and at midday, and four hours up to 10 pm.
According to the media, workers had stated that insufficient electricity supply had also resulted in vaccines and other medicines being destroyed because they were not being refrigerated continuously.
Residents are also concerned about dirty water being supplied to them by the DTL’s facilities. They say that the water has not been chlorinated for a very long time now.
Union officials say electricity supply and housing are part of the package being offered to employees involved in tree-felling and sawmilling.