–GAWU says can’t do anything to get workers back in fields

THE Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has indicated that there is very little it can do to help increase workers attendance, which at this time threatens the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo)’s second crop.
GAWU believes that the sugar company must pay the workers their severance, and then re-employ them. In desperate attempts to save the company’s second crop of sugar production, GuySuCo has commenced the first of a number of outreaches to up workers’ attendance. Protest action earlier in the year, and a long-existing trend of worker absenteeism seriously affected the first crop, costing the company and workers millions of dollars in revenue and wages respectively.

The goal of the outreaches is to get as many stakeholders to encourage sugar workers, particularly planters and harvesters of sugarcane, to work.
At the disbanded Wales Estate, workers are calling for severance pay instead of accepting employment at the Uitvlugt Estate, where there are presently vacancies for some 400 workers.
During the Wales outreach, GuySuCo’s Industrial Relations Manager, Deodat Sukhu told reporters that the workers were advised by a political figure to demand their severance pay and then seek re-employment, despite earlier agreements among the company, union and workers that they would remain on Wales’ payroll.

GAWU’s General Secretary, Seepaul Narine told the Guyana Chronicle that it is not unusual for workers to receive severance pay and then voluntarily offer their service for re-employment in the same business, since severance is basically a payment for previous service and continuation in employment thereafter will be as a re-employed worker, with no previous service.
“You heard for yourself the workers saying they are demanding their redundancy pay like others who have already received theirs. Previously, our Union was accused of advising the workers to demand their redundancy entitlements. Moreover, the workers demand for redundancy pay is supported by the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act,” Narine said, adding:

“The workers are also aware that the Constitution of Guyana prohibits forced labour, as GuySuCo is seeking to do by commanding them to go to Uitvlugt.”
Narine said that workers were previously advised by GuySuCo that they would receive their pay, if they so desired, and made copies of their ID Cards to correctly fill out redundancy cheques.
“Self-termination”, which was mentioned by GuySuCo as a result of workers abandoning two consecutive crops, Narine said, “is a new and strange concept” being advocated by GuySuCo.

“No one self-terminates his/herself; people voluntarily terminate their service by being absent from work for a prolonged period, without offering any form of communication to its employer. In this case the employer is well aware that the workers are awaiting their severance,” he said.
Narine said that workers are “highly demotivated”, given the closure of two estates and the privatisation of another. There is a high sense of job insecurity and pay dissatisfaction.
A government White Paper detailed plans to scale down GuySuCo’s loss-making activities.
Billions of dollars had been spent on the sugar industry under the last government, but failed to improve the industry.

Sugar workers were told of merging estates, divestment and diversification. Workers were told that some would become redundant and others would remain on the job.
The current challenge, GuySuCo says, is that while some redundant workers have been paid off, all of the workers are now demanding severance.
They will then seek re-employment with the company, and at this time, are refusing to work.
In the meantime, GuySuCo has about a week left to convince workers to return to the fields for the commencement of the second crop in mid-July.