Our sugar industry, which is our largest, in recent years has been facing some severe challenges resulting in plummeting production and non-profitability. Among these challenges are poor weather; unstable industrial relations; factory downturns, and of course the end of the sugar protocol resulting in drastic cuts in the price of sugar. The situation has been seriously aggravated by the problems at the new Skeldon factory which was supposed to be  key in the transformation of the sugar industry. However, remedial action is ongoing to fix the problems at the factory and hopefully it would be able to produce at an optimum level in the shortest possible time.
What is of essence is that the problems and challenges facing the industry are well known. The more difficult task is to find lasting solutions which will result in the turning around of the industry which is not an option but rather an imperative.
It is an imperative because the sugar industry is a backbone of the national economy with over 20,000 families being dependent on it for their livelihoods and perhaps another 10,000 being indirectly dependent on it.
So we need to work persistently and aggressively to fix the problems and overcome the challenges or else the corporation may find itself with an acute shortage of labour, as many workers are leaving for more lucrative work. It is not that the corporation would not like to pay higher wages and salaries, but the stark reality is, its financial situation prohibits that. Quite a lot of workers in the sugar industry are opting for the booming construction sector which is paying much higher wages and salaries. And while  fringe benefits and long-term benefits may be better in the sugar industry, many workers are prepared to forego those benefits for higher pay, particularly the younger sugar workers.
This is a major problem facing the sugar industry and with the growing national economy it will face competition for labour, which in the past it did not have to face because sugar was “king.” In fact, there was heavy competition to become employed in the industry in those days.
Those who are saddled with the management and administration of the industry will have to come up with viable and realistic strategies with this relatively new situation of competition for labour, because from all indications, our economy will keep growing and new industries inevitably will spring up.
At the moment, many companies are exploring for oil, and while it is too early to say whether we will join the club of oil-producing nations, there is a great likelihood of this happening. If that happens then the competition for labour would be even greater.
So the corporation has to look at both short-term and long-term strategies in its quest to return the sugar industry to viability and profitability.
One of the ominous developments emanating from the current situation is that attempts are being made to use sugar workers as a political football by capitalising on some of their dissatisfaction.
This is one of the dangers the corporation has to seriously guard against, because evil political forces could use the situation to destabilise the industry and by extension the national economy.
Recently, Agriculture Minister at the corporation’s honours roll ceremony at Blairmont alluded to these attempts by certain political forces.
The industry, he said, continues to stand tall despite the many challenges and setbacks it has faced and continues to face.
In this regard, he said that certain sections of society have been using the setbacks and challenges to gain cheap political mileage instead of trying to help correct the mistakes and move forward as a united people.
While assuring that government will continue to safeguard the wellbeing of all sugar workers, he urged them to be on guard for those who will want to mislead and guide them to create mischief and to not allow the industry to become a political football as it is too important.
This is not a new situation. There were similar attempts in the past which failed because those behind the attempts erroneously felt that sugar workers are unintelligent.
Historically, and on to this day sugar workers have been among the most militant and politically conscious of the working class and therefore any attempt to use their dissatisfaction to manipulate them politically will inevitably fail.