…says meaningful consultations were done

THE Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by the unions representing sugar workers regarding the closure of the Rose Hall and East Demerara sugar estates in 2017, citing in its judgment that minimum requirements for meaningful consultations were met.

The case was taken to the CCJ by the trustee of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union  (GAWU) , Sattie Basdeo and Roxanne St Hill , Trustee of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) after their decision to challenge the dismissal of sugar workers with the closure of the estates was thrown out by the High Court and the Court of Appeal here.

In May 2017, the government signaled its intentions to scale down operations at the two sugar estates of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuco). This move was made for economic reasons, the government stated at the time.

Later in 2017, GAWU resorted to the CCJ after the local Supreme Court adjourned an appeal filed by the union and NAACIE against a ruling of Chief Justice (ag), Roxanne George-Wiltshire, to deny its application to stop the decision to close the Rose Hall and East Demerara Estates.

According to the facts of the case, the unions through their representatives initiated action in the High Court which sought to quash the decision of the GuySuco and the Ministry of Agriculture to sever the employment of approximately 4400 sugar workers at, and to close the operations of, Rose Hall and the Enmore /La Bonne Intention estates (also known as East Demerara estates).

The case was dismissed by the High Court and the arguments made by the sugar union’s legal representatives also did not find favour with the Court of Appeal which on February 8, 2018, dismissed their appeal and affirmed the judgment of the High Court.

The CCJ in its ruling on Tuesday stated that the sugar industry “has undoubtedly” played a large part in the socio-economic development of Guyana. As such, it stated that the future of the industry was an issue of national importance and required vigorous discussion with all stakeholders before an informed decision could be made.

In that regard, the regional court noted that both parties could have engaged each other on a deeper level. It pointed particularly, to the response by the authorities to GAWU’s proposal and generally ensuring that the unions were appraised on plans for alternative employment. Nevertheless, the court ruled that the minimum requirements for meaningful consultation were met.

The CCJ stated too that there was no need to consider the allegation that the constitutional right to work was infringed on as it arose from the contention that the consultations were inadequate. “Given these findings, we cannot grant any of the relief sought,” the CCJ said in its ruling.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams along with Joycelin Kim Kyte-Thomas, Beverley Bishop Cheddie and Judy Stuart-Adonis appeared on behalf of GuySuco and the state while Attorney Devindra Kissoon appeared on behalf of the sugar unions.

Three estates, Albion, Uitvlugt and Skeldon , are functioning at the moment as GuySuco is working to turn the fortunes of the industry around. The government was forced to close the others due to significant losses despite ploughing over G$38B into the sugar industry since taking office a mere three years ago. With diversification and forward-thinking approaches, it is envisaged that the industry will return to profitability in the near future.