THE Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Cooperative Credit Union Society Ltd, together with members from four sugar estates, staged a peaceful picket on Monday, demanding that the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) immediately remit workers’ savings that have been deducted from their wages.
According to the Guyana Agricultural and Workers’ Union (GAWU), GuySuCo has deducted Credit Union savings from sugar workers’ weekly wages since March of this year but has not paid those funds over to the GAWU Cooperative Credit Union.
The union stressed that the money does not belong to the Corporation. It represents the savings of workers who set aside part of their pay each week for their families’ future.
GAWU said GuySuCo’s management has repeatedly committed to settling the debt, including in a written undertaking dated August 27, 2026, to pay 50 percent of the outstanding amount.
The union said not a single dollar of that promised payment has been made, and alleged that the Corporation continues to use workers’ savings to cover its operational shortfalls.
The union said the non-payment is having a severe impact. Workers are being denied access to their own money at a time when they need it for school fees, medical bills and basic household needs.
GAWU also warned that the Credit Union is facing a serious liquidity crisis as a result of the withheld funds. This, it said, threatens the institution’s ability to provide essential financial support to thousands of workers and their families.
GAWU has called on GuySuCo’s Management and Board to release the funds immediately. It also urged the Minister of Agriculture and the Government of Guyana to intervene urgently to ensure the Corporation meets its obligations and promptly remits the workers’ savings.
“The continued withholding of these funds is unacceptable and is causing significant hardship,” the union said.