Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder has revealed that the report of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Sugar Industry will not be publicly disseminated before the end of the 2015 crop as cabinet is seeking to organize a retreat on November 28 to discuss the findings before any decisions are made.
The minister told Stabroek News that the following Tuesday, December 1, 2015, cabinet is expected to make a decision that will set the fate of the sugar industry.
The report was presented to the minister on October 20.
“What cabinet is saying… This is too important of a decision to be made at a cabinet meeting you want a special retreat…for the COI to come and present its finding to the cabinet alone,” Holder told Stabroek News. He said specifically, for his ministry, he has requested additional information from the commission as it related to “finances” and “economic aspects” of the individual estates.
The minister became agitated and accused this publication of “having an agenda” when questioned further on specifics.
Holder said the report thus far, which he referred to as an “interim report” had already been seen by cabinet and it was during that meeting that a decision was taken for a “special retreat.” “It went to cabinet,” he said. Cabinet looked at the executive summary over a week ago and said it needed more information on various things, he said.
GuySuCo Chairman Dr Clive Thomas, Chief Executive Officer Errol Hanoman and Director of Finance Paul Bhim participated in the CoI with Bhim providing a full breakdown of the corporation’s debt. The main sugar unions, the General Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the National Association of Agriculture, Commercial and Industrial (NAACIE) also participated by way of presentations and GAWU’s commissioner.
Holder denied claims by the sugar unions, telling Stabroek News that in fact collective bargaining has commenced between the two parties.
He explained the process as one where “We said hold on, we are in deficit we are not in a position to pay you more money. Let us wait for this report to come out and then we can see the way forward. How do you pay them more money in a situation where you don’t have money?”
Asked to respond to claims by the unions that the corporation is in violation of the Trade Union Recognition Act, Holder said, “The Trade Union Recognition Act say that GuySuCo must negotiate with government?”
He said that sugar workers’ salaries were “paid out of the public coffers,” and accused Stabroek News of advocating for GuySuCo to file for bankruptcy. Holder was dismissive of the government’s responsibility to investigate the €110 million ($26 billion) that was given to Guyana for the sugar sector by the European Union in budgetary support over the years. He said that an increase in wages for sugar workers would be at the expense of and burden to other workers. “…If one set of workers are being paid very highly at the expense of the income tax paid by other workers who are drawing less, it could become political particularly when the workers who are drawing more than anybody else are asking for more money… It isn’t the industry paying them you know the industry is in deficit. They are paid out of the public coffers,” Holder said. GuySuCo’s debt is roughly $82 billion with wages and salaries identified as one of the largest portions of the debt.
The unions have stood firm that they have been more than accommodating and that it was pure frustration on the part of estate workers that resulted in the three-day strike last month. GAWU is requesting a 9% increase in wages, which its head Komal Chand stated is well below the 20% that was promised to public servants by the government.
On Monday GAWU decided not to strike this week, but to instead test the intention of GuySuCo with a request for talks on the Annual Production Incentive (API).
