THE industrial action taken by sugar workers has negatively impacted the Sugar Industry, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation, Errol Hanoman.

On Monday, sugar workers downed tools in demand of higher salaries and better working conditions but according to Hanoman, the protest was uncalled for, explaining that it took place at a time when the Corporation was still in negotiation with the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU). The negotiation teams are expected to meet again today.

“The protest has caused us a bit of pain,” Hanoman told Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday while explaining that the sugar production will likely drop this week due to the industrial action.

“Last week was an excellent week but we will lose the better part of this week,” he posited.

The CEO further explained that on Monday the factories were expected to undergo maintenance but that had to be done on Tuesday as a result of the strike.

He said too that many sugar workers have developed a practice of not returning to work the day after they would have taken industrial action. As such, Hanoman said, when the negotiating parties meet today, the negative impact of industrial actions on the industry will be highlighted by GuySuCo.

In a statement on Monday, GuySuCo said strike actions have negatively impacted the industry over the years.

“During the last 10 years, strike action ranged between 160 in 2005 to 250 in 2010, and fluctuated slightly during that period. For six years, the numbers were above 200 annually, and in 2014 and 2015 there was a slight reduction,” the Corporation said.

It added that from 2005 to 2015, the total man-days lost to strikes were 813,437, and the highest man-days lost for this period was in 2009 with 130, 171 in 2006 and the lowest being 32,064 in 2014.
For four years, the number was above 90,000; this was in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and for another four years, it was above 50,000 while it was below 50,000 for three years during this period.

“Being a labour-intensive Corporation, over 150 strikes per year have been contributing to the demise of the Corporation and have been impacting significantly on its financial viability. It is important to note that in order for the Corporation to grow and become a profitable entity, it has to diversify.

GuySuCo is calling on the unions to just this once, put the employees’ interest above their own agenda,” GuySuCo said.

The Corporation noted that it has a responsibility to protect the rights and also secure the livelihood of the workers, both members and non-members of unions.