Estates in the sugar belt from Skeldon to Uitvlugt went on strike yesterday, the second stoppage this month in a searing dispute over wages and the Ministry of Labour last evening announced that compulsory arbitration is to be imposed because of the grave situation.
Human Resources Direc-tor of the Guyana Sugar Cor-poration (GuySuCo) Jairam Petam said that the last meeting between the parties in the conciliation process occurred on Monday and a deadlock was declared by the Chief Labour Officer Mohamed Akeel because of an inability of the stakeholders to bridge a fundamental difference on wages. GuySuCo is currently offering 5.25% while GAWU is demanding 14.25%.
Petam stated that the next move that was supposed to be activated was for the parties to take the matter to arbitration. He said that GAWU had failed to follow procedural protocol wherein the union was supposed to officially notify the corporation in writing of its desire to effect strike action within 72 hours.
He said that on Monday evening, it was “intimated” to management by certain worker representatives that workers intended to strike for three days. Petam told Stabroek News that strike action for such a period would result in gargantuan losses amounting to 7,000 tonnes of sugar in the vital second crop.
Petam sought to reiterate that it was not a case where the corporation was insensitive to workers economic condition of hardship but that the financial status of Guysuco did not render the demanded pay increase feasible.
Injurious
The Labour Ministry in its statement said that Minister Manzoor Nadir had asked the Chief Labour Officer to advise both GAWU and GuySuCo that he had declared that any continuation of the dispute was likely to be “gravely injurious to the national interest and as such under the Labour Act compulsory arbitration will be imposed”.
The ministry pointed out that in March 2008, GAWU filed a claim with the sugar corporation for a 15% increase.
The two sides met on seven occasions but failed to reach agreement and the last offer at that time was 4.5% by the company while the unions sought 14.75%.
On August 13, workers on four estates downed tools over the deadlock in wage talks despite the fact that GAWU and the corporation had had a cordial meeting the day before and were moving towards conciliation. Observers had said the strike action had been pushed by militant workers and even GAWU had been taken by surprise. The strike lasted for varying days on the estates and work was substantially resumed on August 18.
Officials of the sugar corporation had related to the media at a press briefing on August 14 that 1% in the context of the industrial negotiations was equivalent to a $150 million and thus any acceptance of a 14 percent wage hike would result in bankruptcy for the corporation.
The Labour Ministry pointed out yesterday that during the subsequent conciliation the corporation moved from 4.5% to 5% and then to 5.25% while the union moved from 14.75% to 14.25%.
Noting that the imposition of compulsory arbitration was by virtue of the powers vested in him under Section 4(1) © of the Labour Act, Nadir also criticized GAWU.
Abused
“The minister has reminded the union that there were breaches of the Collective Labour Agreement during the course of bilateral meetings and also during conciliation workers of various estates went on strike in clear violation of the Collective Labour Agreement. This present strike, the Minister noted, is no different except (that) this strike has caused a shutdown of the industry’s production and can severely damage this industry forever”, the release said.
Nadir also said that the strike weapon is most often abused in the sugar sector and urged the leader of GAWU in the fields to be responsible and respect the grievance procedures. The minister urged that the strike be called off.
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) in a press statement issued yesterday afternoon said it wished to confirm the ceasing of field and factory operations within Guysuco’s sugar estates in Berbice and Demerara.
The release noted that the union and the Corporation having failed at bilateral negotiations to resolve the difference between the Corporation’s offer and the Union’s claim for an increase in pay, jointly requested the conciliation service of the Ministry of Labour.
It said Akeel intervened on August 18, 2008 and after holding three meetings with the Union and the Corpora-tion, declared a deadlock on August 25, 2008 with the Union demanding a wage/ salary increase of 14.25 per cent and the Corporation offering 5.25 per cent.
It was underscored that workers have been experiencing a significant rise in the cost-of-living especially last year (2007) and this year. Last year’s 8.5 per cent increase in pay was far below the inflation of 14 per cent. This year’s offer by the Corporation, it was asserted, is also below the declared half year inflation rate for this year. The Bureau of Statistics recently said that the inflation rate up to June this year was 5.8%.
The Union continued that it follows that the purchasing power of the ordinary workers has been continuously eroded in the light of the ascending cost of living. “We wish to renew the call that increase in pay for all workers ought to be greater than the rate of inflation.”
The Union, the press release articulated, wished to note that if the Corporation fails to maintain competitive rates of pay there will be a dwindling of its labour pool similar to the days of the latter 80’s and early 90’s when the industry was plagued by the lack of an adequate workforce. In those years sugar production declined considerably as follows 1988: 167,550; 1989; 164,800; 1990: 129,920 and 1991: 156,690.
GAWU argued that the major problem of the sugar industry lies with the poor management of the Corporation. Over the years 2005-2007 sugar production averaged 260,000 tonnes declining from its average production level of 320,000 during the years 2002 to 2004.
The union said it wishes to recommence negotiations but with a more reasonable offer by the Corporation which could be the basis of a negotiated settlement and called upon the Corporation to set the stage for an immediate resumption of the discussions and an end to the strike.
A press release yesterday from the other major sugar union, the National Association of Agriculture, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) noted that it is aware of the industrial action now taking place in the sugar industry. The Union posited that it is not surprised adding that it is “well known that there is no trust existing between Management and the workers in the industry so promises are written on ice.”
NAACIE stated that the “high cost of living has been outrunning the meagre wages paid to the hard working employees for the past years with annual wages way below the National inflation rate compounding the loss in the value of real wages.”
NAACIE moreover posited that the naming of workers’ industrial action “wild cat strikes” is an insult to the intelligence of the workers that produce the largest amount of hard currency. “The Unions in the industry have been advising GuySuCo of the impeding action but again, the Company has been taking their employees for granted.” NAACIE stated that it is in full support of the workers represented by GAWU on strike in the sugar industry.
The latest unrest comes amid the government’s commissioning of a review of the sugar industry. The review will recommend corrective actions to be taken by GuySuCo to meet production forecasts and scrutinize areas such as the suitability and standard of current operations.
The government last week announced that a review of the sugar industry would be commissioned for the period 1997-2008 in light of falling production and there have been increasing questions about the stewardship of GuySuCo which has been under management of Booker Tate since the early 1990s.
Separately, government had announced earlier that the management contract would be put out to tender next year. Last week, President Bharrat Jagdeo told a seminar that he had read the “riot act” to GuySuCo management over the drop in production. A large sum has been expended on the industry to improve production.
In a request for tender document released to the media on Saturday, the government cited a decline in sugar production since 2005 as one of the major reasons behind the ordering of the review. The document notes that in 2002 the industry produced 330,000 tonnes of sugar – the highest level since nationalization – but ever since it has fallen significantly. It noted that the Great Flood of 2005 and other weather factors had a serious impact on production that year which fell to 246,000 tonnes. “Production has struggled to regain the levels attained since the early 2000s and (GuySuCo) is forecasting 285,000 tonnes production for 2008”.
This figure may now be in jeopardy because of inclement weather and the strikes.
