Scores of the 350 former cane cutters from the now closed Wales sugar estate who GuySuCo says do not qualify for severance pressed their case again on Tuesday outside of the Ministry of the Presidency.
According to a release from the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), the former Wales Estate workers are calling on the government and the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) to abide by the provisions of the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act. The union says that under TESPA these workers are entitled to severance as the offer of positions at the Utivlugt sugar estate breached the provisions of the severance law. This matter is also before the court.
The GAWU statement said that the workers had recently written again to President David Granger, the second time in recent months, seeking his intervention in having GuySuCo settle its obligations to the 350 workers. In his initial response, the president had committed that Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder would examine the matter and they would hear from him. Several months have passed, and not having heard from the Agriculture Minister, the workers wrote to the president again, and are still awaiting a response.
According to the union’s release,
