Strike action at two sugar estates has prompted intervention by Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir who has summoned a meeting for today with the union representing the workers and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) management.
And in the interim, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), has decided that the workers will return to work to facilitate the meeting with the minister. Its outcome will determine their next course of action.
The 10-day strike at the LBI estate which had spread to the Enmore estate may cost the company millions but at the moment the company is unable to come up with exactly how much was lost.
Both Guysuco Human Resources Director Jairam Petam and GAWU General Secretary Seepaul Narine have confirmed the invitation from the minister and have indicated that they would respond to the minister’s request.
Narine said in light of the strike action, the union called a special executive meting on Saturday. It was during that discussion the union received a telephone call from the minister and was informed of the meeting.
Meanwhile Petam said the union informed the company that the workers would return to work on Saturday.
The strike had caused a shutdown at the LBI and Enmore estates over what the workers called the “wrongful dismissal” of a colleague.
A shop steward, Khemraj Singh, was dismissed by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) and the company’s contention was that Singh did not comply with the grievance procedure. The employee was dismissed on the basis that he “violated the grievance procedure and instigated, organized and mobilized a two-day strike action on February 12 and 13.” This initial action occurred after, a factory employee, Rambarran, on February 8 had declined to undertake repairs on a hole on a boiler because the job required that he climb over 12 feet.
Rambarran reportedly refused and the factory manager referred him to a medex who concluded that the man was suffering from a height phobia. And because of this Rambarran was not given work for that day. His fellow workers felt that the man had declined the task for valid safety reasons and was therefore unjustifiably denied work.
The workers felt, too, that Rambarran should have been paid for that day and so shop steward Singh decided that he would take the matter up with management.
Guysuco’s management confirmed that it decided not to pay Singh for that day when he was denied work and so Singh reported management’s decision to the workers. After the workers were informed, they decided that they would take strike action and Singh was dismissed.
Meanwhile, GAWU has since received solidarity from its union colleagues in the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG).
In a statement issued on Saturday FITUG condemned in the strongest terms what is called Guysuco’s apparent intention to either control the way representatives of the union carry out their duties as elected shop stewards or ultimately ‘bust the union’.
FITUG called on Guysuco to immediately reinstate Singh. FITUG said too that it is prepared at very short notice to take whatever action it feels is necessary. (Heppilena Ferguson)
