A STIRRING appeal by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on Friday calling on sugar workers not to go on strike has resonated with the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).The union headed by PPP/C Parliamentarian Komal Chand recently threatened to embark on another strike but has since aborted plans and is now seeking other constructive measures to get the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to return to the bargaining table.

On Friday, the government urged all sugar workers and their unions to help rescue the industry and not engage in politically motivated strikes as being planned for next week.
Sugar workers were expected to commence a three-day strike from yesterday, following one that was held just weeks ago.
GAWU and GuySuCo have been at odds over the delay in wages talks for workers. The corporation has argued that government needs time to study the findings of the recently concluded inquiry into the industry before it can negotiate salaries, but the unions have been pressing the case for talks to commence earliest.
On Friday, in a statement issued by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, government alluded to the fact that for the first time in years GuySuCo has been able to reach and surpass weekly targets.
“The government encourages sugar workers to remain committed to their jobs and, with the holiday season approaching, to earn as much as they can before the current crop comes to an end,” Nagamootoo said.
He added that the government finds as most disturbing the agitation, mainly by GAWU, for workers to engage in strike action. “Such action could cripple operations and close down the sugar industry. This is especially alarming and regrettable now that efforts are being made to breathe life into the industry.”
The Prime Minister said government has been looking at all options to revive the industry, which was placed in a state of bankruptcy and almost total ruin by the former PPP/C administration.
Highlighting the issues of GuySuCo over the years, the Prime Minister said production slumped from 327,000 metric tonnes in the 1960s to an average of below 250,000 tonnes between 2008 and 2014. Additionally, under the former administration, the sugar industry never came close to realising the promised 500,000 tonnes target. Between 2009 and 2015 GuySuCo not only failed to make a profit, but suffered estimated total losses of $67.8 billion, the Prime Minister said.
Moreover, he noted that “when the last administration left office, GuySuCo’s debt burden stood at $82 billion.” He said it is “therefore irrefutable that under that administration, GuySuCo had lost its way. It is for this reason that the coalition government supported a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the sugar industry.
“The interim report has confirmed the poor and declining state of GuySuCo as a result of political interference, poor management and squandermania,” Prime Minister Nagamootoo asserted.
Noting that GuySuCo is on its way to success, Nagamotoo said that after a mere five months in office, the coalition government is seeking to put a 10-Year Road Map and Action Plan in place, aimed at returning the industry to viability.
The Prime Minister has also noted that no sugar estate will be closed, and hinted at a greater role for private investors in the industry.