GAWU calls off strike but workers refuse to work...

The Rose Hall sugar workers who went on one week of protest over the cost of living have said that they will be awaiting a definitive word from Government before full resumption of work at that Berbice estate.

However, word is that the sugar union has instructed the workers to return to work, and that three of five cane cutting gangs have already returned to work. According to Vincent Loncke, a spokesperson for a delegation that visited Prime Minister Sam Hinds on Monday to make a petition, only a “selective” quantity of cane was burnt, and with not enough to grind, only a few gangs of workers were able to do anything.

According to Loncke, the workers will be waiting to see what the Prime Minister comes up with before deciding on more protests.

He stressed yesterday that claims of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) on Monday that the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has partially called off the action is erroneous, since it was not a strike but a protest over the cost of living, and not one against GuySucCo.

Sugar workers from Rose Hall downed tools last week Tuesday over rising food prices, electricity rates, and delays of payments from the National Insurance Scheme. The action spread to other factories in Berbice, and nine persons were arrested and charged with unlawful procession and other unlawful behaviour.

On Friday, Prime Minister Hinds met with workers at Berbice and requested a delegation to meet with him and present their concerns.On Monday, the delegation met with the Prime Minister in the city and tabled a five-point petition. It was clear on Monday that the delegation was not ready to back down, and according to Loncke, the workers, while being aware of GuySuCo and the world prices, emphasized that it was the workers who were feeling the harsh effects.

According to another delegate, Paulton Austin, rice price has risen from $4,500 per bag to almost $8,000. With children to send to school, food and other expenses, it is impossible to live on the wages.Meanwhile, the Prime Minister indicated that Government has trimmed its infrastructure budget in light of the rising prices.

More Money for WorkersOn Monday, GuySuCo said, a meeting was held at Blairmont Community Centre, where the management of the Corporation met with all the harvesting and factory representatives from the estate and officials from the union’s head-office.

“Before the union officially declared that there would be a partial resumption, the Corporation took the opportunity to impress upon all in attendance that the Rose Hall strike was in total violation of the subsisting grievance procedure, and that the Corporation reserves the right to dismiss any employee or representative who instigated such strike.”

The Corporation has rarely invoked this in the past, but conditions have now changed dramatically and the Corporation finds itself in the position where this course of action will be taken in the future, regardless of whether the person or persons are union representatives or ordinary workers, a release from Chief Executive Nick Jackson said yesterday.

"After six days of the protest, which not only halted grinding operations in the most ideal harvesting conditions, but also caused 160 punts of burnt canes, at a value of G$15m, to be discarded due to the deteriorated condition, action has put the reduced production target of 108,000 tonnes at serious risk of not being achieved.”

The Corporation told the representatives of the protesting workers that if they improved their attendance from 64 per cent then they could earn more money and hence mitigate against the increases in the cost of living.

The workers are required to work five days per week, but were only turning out to work 64 per cent of the time. This means an average work week of only 3.2 days for the cane harvesters.

The Corporation regularly offers six days work per week during the cropping periods, so there is not a problem for the workers to attend more often and earn more money. “Attendance at work is a major issue for the Corporation, and poor attendance last crop caused the carryover of in excess of 200,000 tonnes of cane into the first crop of this year.”

GuySuCo faces the possibility of not producing even 100,000 tonnes of sugar this crop, due to the low attendance and strike action across the industry following on from the poor start due to bad weather.

“This is down from the original target of 124,000 tonnes, and the revised target of 108,000 nnes, due to the La Nina conditions experienced at the beginning of the year.

The Corporation urges all harvesters and other workers in Berbice to maximize their working days and to take advantage of the good dry conditions to produce as much sugar as possible before the mid-year rains come and bring the first crop to an end.”

The target remains at 108,000 tonnes, which is essential to meet current market demands in both the Caribbean and the European Union