SUGAR workers at Skeldon and Rose Hall sugar estates ceased their strike action as of yesterday, according to President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Mr. Komal Chand.

The Union’s Head, in an invited comment yesterday, told the Guyana Chronicle that reconciliation talks are scheduled for Friday, to address the problem at the Skeldon Estate, which led to the strike.
He explained that six conditions were agreed to by the Union and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) yesterday. They are as follows:
1. The strike by field and factory workers attached to Skeldon and Rose Hall that were ongoing as of yesterday will end;
2. The Union will ensure full resumption of duties by field and factory workers from today;
3. Within 24-hours, after resumption of duties, the aggrieved parties, including GAWU, will meet with the Chief Labour Officer, who will make a final decision on the matter;
4. There will be no victimization on either side because of strike actions;
5. All workers who were on strike will not have their ‘strike day’ counted as absent, but as days not available for work; and
6. That the dismissal of the Skeldon factory employee, Mr. Steven Daniels, will be now treated as a suspension, without pay, until the end of the reconciliation talks.
“If the reconciliation talks prove unfruitful, then we will move to arbitration,” Mr. Chand said.
The GAWU Head added that the conditionalities will pave the way for field and factory workers to return to work, while the issue at the root of the strike is being addressed, simultaneously.
“I am satisfied that we reached a position of compromise,” he said.
Chand stated too that the planned one-day strike action at Blairmont Estate is not expected to proceed in light of the agreement. Also, Albion sugar estate workers had staged a one-day strike on Tuesday, in support of their colleagues at Skeldon.
PROBLEM
The GAWU President, in an earlier comment, had explained that the strike stemmed from an alleged altercation between Estate Manager, Mr. Dave Kumar and Daniels, a worker at the Skeldon sugar estate.
He said the report he received is that last Friday, at around 11:30pm, the estate manager, who had allegedly been consuming alcohol, was on his way to the Dock Mill, where a cane harvest had been offloading. Before he reached there, he met several workers and reportedly asked them to move. The allegation is that all the workers did not remove immediately and the estate manger became incensed.
“The report we have is that the worker was verbally abused, he was cursed at, and there was a scuffle where the estate manger allegedly attempted to hit him,” Chand had said.
He added that the worker continued working, but was later informed that he was fired and escorted off the premises by the estate’s security personnel.
As a result, workers moved to strike action.
BLAME GAME
Additionally, there has been some play at the blame game, with the all the stakeholders taking hits as being responsible for the prevailing unease in the sugar belt.
While GAWU stood on the side of the Skeldon factory employee, GuySuCo had initially put their weight behind the Skeldon Estate Manager.
Yesterday, GuySuCo in a statement, said, “The type of behaviour that was displayed by Mr. Daniels is recognized by the Corporation as one that constitutes gross misconduct, and such behaviour is treated with summary dismissal; as a consequence Daniels was summarily dismissed last Saturday.
“…the Corporation wishes to restate, as it did in a previous statement, that the Estate Manager in his usual night visits to the factory and mill dock met a group of workers that included Steven Daniels who were malingering in the vicinity of the mill dock and cautioned them to report to their respective work stations. On being cautioned by the Manager, Daniels became abusive and was calmly advised by the Manager to heed his advice and report to his work station. Daniels subsequently retaliated and approached the Estate Manager in a hostile manner, and in the process struck the Manager in his face. The incident was witnessed by the Agriculture Manager and a Supernumerary Constable, all of whom testified that the Estate Manager was not intoxicated nor was he aggressive and abusive to Daniels.”
Despite the variations in the stories, the involved parties have agreed to meet to discuss the problem.
Also, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), disclosed that it has obtained “irrefutable evidence” that is contrary to GuySuCo’s statement. “Our information is that Daniels was not delinquent during his work engagement on the day of the incident,” the Union said in a statement issued yesterday.
FITUG IN SOLIDARITY
The Union has also made clear that it stands by its affiliate, GAWU.
“FITUG, after obtaining a full account of the incident between the Estate Manager and worker, Stephen Daniel, which occurred on the night of (Friday) September 19, 2014, has concluded that the decision to dismiss Daniel by the Estate Manager lacks propriety,” the body said.
According to the Union, the Estate Manager ought not to have determined any disciplinary action, given his personal involvement in the issue.
“The Corporation seems bent in upholding the Estate Manager’s untenable and rash decision at all costs,” FITUG bemoaned.
The Union contends that GuySuCo’s position is unfortunate considering that the Estate Manager’s conduct was the determining factor that led to the escalating strike actions at the different estates.
On that note, FITUG reiterated its position, to stand firmly behind GAWU, to have the present dispute settled without further delay in the interest of the industry, its workforce, the Corporation and the nation at large.
“FITUG urges the management of GuySuCo, working together with the recognized Union, GAWU, to ensure that the strike is ended forthwith. The industry can ill-afford such stoppages,” the Union appealed.
SECOND SUGAR CROP
The escalating strike action is expected to affect the production for the second sugar crop.
The first crop was successful, surpassing the 75,000 tonnes target, bringing in about 80,000 tonnes. The overall target for 2014 has been moved from 216,000 tonnes to 219,000 tonnes. Sugar production came in at a dismal 186,500 tonnes for 2013, but Guyana has been taking steps to turn around the sugar industry and hopes to meet the 300,000 tonnes-target soon, with a projection that the sector will reach its 400,000-tonne goal by 2020.

(By Vanessa Narine)