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At the time of that interview, held in the Agriculture Ministry’s boardroom at Regent Road, Georgetown, Dr Ramsammy advised that production thus far for the year was approximately 208,000 tonnes, which is about 29,000 tonnes shy of the target.
“We have approximately three weeks, and we could push it to about four weeks. There’s no question that if the weather remains like it was in early November, we would reach that target. It’s going to be tight, but we’re hoping to meet the target,” he iterated.
Dr Ramsammy further revealed that, once the weather is good, approximately 12,000 tonnes of sugar would be produced in a week.
He echoed the statements of GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Bhim, who recently told the Guyana Chronicle that low employee turnout is posing a threat to production.
“The other threat, of course, is a continuous threat, and that is the availability of a full labour force. We have never had — and it’s not even for people to think it’s because of strike. It’s just that the industry doesn’t have access to a large enough labour force, since Guyana would have, over the years (and) because of our development, created more employment,” the minister explained.
He noted that, for instance, the growth of the mining industry has attracted a lot of people, such as skilled labourers and machine operators.
“The commerce in Guyana has increased, so people find employment in that. There’s a diversification, so even the cash crop farmers have been complaining about availability of labour. It’s not just a GuySuCo problem,” he contended.
Dr Ramsammy stressed that the decline in employee turnout is due to the labour force not being large enough, and not because of strikes. He pointed to that as the reason why GuySuCo is working to mechanize operations at all estates.
He also related that the workers still occasionally strike, but he has been working with the union — the workers’ representatives,and the GuySuCo management to ensure that disputes are addressed amicably.
“When we do have strikes, we lose more… But we have to be practical, because management wants the industry to succeed, the union wants the industry to succeed, the workers want the industry to succeed. I don’t think there’s a variance in that aspiration, and, therefore, I have always urged management and workers for us to talk more and have fewer lines drawn, because we do have strikes, and those have been impacting in recent times, and I believe no one gains from strikes,” Minister Ramsammy asserted.
He added that if anyone thinks the workers are being irresponsible, they need to revise that thought, because the workers are acting on what they see as their legitimate rights, and management sometimes works on what they see as principle.
Nevertheless, he stressed the importance for the parties involved to work together, because they are all working to achieve common goals.
Meanwhile, Ramsammy remarked that everything is in place to begin modification works to the Skeldon sugar factory, and this would be done as soon as the present crop ends.
“Everything is in place, and I know that we are hoping to stop (grinding) after the first week in December. We’re going to look at our production rates, and if we need to go a next few weeks, we’re going to do that,” he stated.
The South African firm Bosch has been contracted to modify the Skeldon factory by fixing the problems it has been experiencing. The factory has been performing well for the past few months, but modifications are expected to make it even more efficient.
