Seven per cent wage increase for sugar workers
Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo
Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo

–after five years of no direct benefits, says Vice-President Jagdeo

AFTER five years of labouring in the fields and factories within Guyana’s sugar industry without an increase in remuneration, or other incentives to acknowledge their hard work, sugar workers are set to benefit from a seven per cent increase in wages and salaries before the end of the year.

The approval of this increase by the Government of Guyana comes as a welcome reward for sugar workers, whose relentless efforts to acquire such a provision under the previous A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration proved futile.

Contrary to the government’s move, which is to the benefit of workers, Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo, in announcing the increase on Monday, said that the former coalition administration had shuttered several estates, and left workers on the breadline.

In 2017, the APNU+AFC Government had announced the closure of several sugar estates across the country, leaving thousands of persons without jobs or sources of income. The move saw four sugar estates being closed, and 7,000 sugar workers losing their jobs.

“Under APNU [+AFC], 7,000 sugar workers lost their jobs, and in the five years, there was no salary increase for sugar workers… Apart from that, the Annual Production Incentive (API) had also been terminated. So, while the rest of the country got salary increases, they got zero.

And, in fact, many of them lost their jobs, so the $250,000 grant was a way to alleviate some of the issues they faced; it is almost reparative justice, and we had to give a salary increase this year. We had said that whatever the public servants get, they would also get… We decided that seven per cent would also be awarded to sugar worker,” Vice-President Jagdeo said.

FULFILMENT OF COMMITMENT
In a statement following the announcement of the increase in wages and salaries for sugar workers, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) said that the government’s move represents the fulfillment of a commitment made earlier this year.

“For the GAWU, the decision by the government to provide workers with a seven per cent rise in pay equivalent to their counterparts in other sectors of the State marks a reversal of the policy of discrimination that was meted out to them during the coalition government.

“It is well known that during the life of the David Granger-led Administration, sugar workers were treated like unwanted stepchildren. Their wages were frozen at 2014 levels, while their colleagues in other sections of the State’s employ benefitted from annual pay adjustments. During that period, they suffered immensely, as the cost-of-living rose appreciably, while their real wages tumbled,” the Union said.

After computing the impact of the occurrences between 2015 and 2019, GAWU determined that sugar workers’ real wages had declined by some 42 per cent.

The Union related that apart from the wage freeze, other longstanding benefits were simply suspended without “rhyme or reason,” and sugar workers and their families suffered “disdainfully” at the hands of the former administration.

With benefits being restored, and requests for an increase being granted, GAWU and the sugar workers will now turn their attention to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), which will dispense the benefits.

“Certainly, with the holiday period fast approaching, workers, with great anxiety, seek to receive their payments. Undoubtedly, it will make their holidays somewhat brighter, and enable workers and their families, in their own way, to be able to afford some of what was denied them under the Coalition, “ the Union said, adding:

“The GAWU, at this time, is appreciative of the government’s genuine efforts to bring about betterment to the sugar workers and the workers of Guyana. We are sure that the workers are greatly appreciative of the government’s decision. Indeed, it is yet another promise fulfilled by the government.”

STRENGTHENING MANAGEMENT
Another area which the government has committed to addressing was the management of GuySuCo, which is in need of strengthening.
“I informed the Union that early next year, we would be engaging the company to strengthen the management of GuySuCo… We have several proposals, and because of other pressing issues, we have not been able to review these proposals,” Vice-President Jagdeo said.

Enhanced management of the estate would be accompanied by the further implementation of a strategic plan, which is expected to return the sugar industry to viability.

Cognisant that a diversion from the traditional bulk production of sugar is needed if the ailing industry is to recover and regain its vitality and position as a contributor to economic growth, the government has initiated plans to ensure that by 2025, 61 per cent of industry sales will come from value-added products.

Instead of being a liability to the national treasury, the industry will soon be able to “stand on its own”, through the implementation of innovative mechanisms, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha was quoted as saying in a past report.

The overarching plan, however, is to ensure that a minimum of 61 per cent of the sales from the industry is generated from the value-added, packaged sugar line in four years. As a result of those strategic actions, the sugar industry will be less dependent on the national treasury.

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