GuySuCo layoffs to significantly impact NIS income

Holly Greaves

The layoff of some 4,000 sugar workers is expected to see a “significant” decrease in the annual income of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), for which the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has been the largest single contributor.

According to GuySuCo’s 2015 annual report, which was laid in the National Assembly in December, the company, which at that time employed about 17,000 persons, had contributed $1.28 billion to the scheme. A similar contribution of $1.288 billion had been made in 2014.

With 4,000 workers or roughly 23.5% of the GuySuCo workforce having been made redundant, the exact financial impact on the scheme is unknown but Public Relations Officer Dianne Baxter has told Stabroek News that it is expected to be significant.

“GuySuCo is and has always