SUGAR workers are to receive their Annual Production Incentive (API) for 2015, following much deliberation and months of contention between the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU).Effective April 1, 2016 sugar workers are expected to receive 2.72 days’ pay API, but GAWU described the offer as unjust. However, GuySuCo is moving forward with the payment.

Prior to the decision to pay the API, GuySuCo and GAWU were engaged in five meetings; two under the chairmanship of the Chief Labour Officer (CLO) at conciliation and three between the parties (GAWU and GuySuCo) at the bilateral level.

The meetings, which took place between November 18 and December 11, 2015 saw GuySuCo taking an “uncompromising stand” on its proposal to award a day’s pay as API for every 85,000 tonnes of sugar produced.

“No agreement had been reached between the parties. The CLO at the last meeting on December 11, 2015 advised that he would wish to brief his subject Minister who is the Chief Conciliator about the matter. The Union next heard from the CLO when he summoned a meeting with GAWU and GuySuCo on February 19, 2016. He did not report on the Minister’s view of the matter. The CLO then proceeded to declare the API conciliatory effort to be deadlocked,” GAWU noted in a statement.

According to GAWU, between 2011 and 2014 the average was 35,945 tonnes per day’s pay. Thus, sugar workers received 7.58 API days’ pay for a production of 236,506 tonnes sugar in 2011; 6.76 days’ pay for 218,060 tonnes sugar in 2012; 5 days’ pay for 186,807 tonnes sugar in 2013, and 4.5 days’ pay for 216,359 tonnes sugar in 2014.