Conciliatory talks between the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) over Annual Production Incentive (API) award for sugar workers for 2009 continue to be deadlocked.

General Secretary of GAWU Seepaul Narine told Stabroek News last evening that no resolution has been reached with regard to the API payment. He said the union is now deciding on its next move. According to Narine, union representatives are on the ground communicating with the workers. He said that tomorrow or Thursday the union will meet and decide firmly on its course of action, and according to Narine, strike action should not be ruled out.

In a release issued on Friday, GAWU said talks with the corporation were deadlocked with GuySuco being unable to meet the demands of the union for sugar workers to receive eight days pay for the production of 233,735 tonnes of sugar last year. GuySuCo was sticking to its offer of 3½ days pay, which was decreased from a four-days pay offer, the release said.

The union stated that its demand is consistent with the days pay awarded over the past years since 1989 and particularly over the following four years:

-2005 – for 246,089 tonnes – 7.2 days pay
-2006 – for 259,548 tonnes – 10.47 days pay
-2007 – for 266,482 tonnes – 12.03 days pay
-2008 – for 226,267 tonnes – 8 days pay

The talks between the union and the corporation went to conciliation, after the corporation applied to the Labour Ministry requesting  its intervention.