Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has assured that no workers will lose their jobs as the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) advances its plans for increased mechanisation, as the government presses ahead with a broader strategy to modernise the sugar industry and boost revenues.
Responding to several questions from the opposition benches during the Committee of Supply, Minister Mustapha moved to quell concerns that the introduction of more machinery in the sector would displace sugar workers.
“With mechanisation, no one will lose their job… this government don’t dismiss people and send home people.”
LABOUR GAPS
Responding to questions from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU’s) Juretha Fernandes about how many workers would be affected, the Minister explained that GuySuCo is already grappling with a serious labour shortage and that mechanisation is intended to fill existing gaps, not to send workers home.
Over the next five years, he said, the transition to more mechanised operations will be managed through attrition and other natural factors, ensuring that workers are not made redundant.
According to Mustapha, the measures will help guarantee adequate and regular labour for sugar production, stabilising output while supporting the industry’s turnaround efforts.
ROBUST TRAINING AND RESKILLING PROGRAMMES
Pressed further on what would happen to current workers in a more mechanised environment, and whether they would be retrained, the Minister pointed to what he described as a “robust training programme” already in place.
He highlighted the role of the GuySuCo Training School, which offers instruction in several disciplines, including: machining, agricultural mechanics, electrical engineering and other technical fields linked to modern agricultural and industrial operations.
In addition, Mustapha referenced initiatives under the Ministry of Labour, noting that the Minister of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT) programme has trained hundreds of GuySuCo workers to operate heavy-duty machinery.
The APNU+AFC Government had placed over 7,000 persons on the bread line after shuttering several estates between 2015 and 2018.
