In the wake of complaints by pensioners about the planned payment of pensions via bank accounts, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) yesterday said that the matter is still under review.
GuySuCo in a statement yesterday said that it has noted the concerns of its “valued former employees, pensioners, and the Corporation wishes to inform them that it is still in the process of reviewing the proposed payment process for pensioners which requires that payment be made through the banking system”.
The Corporation says it currently has on roll 6,868 pensioners who are spread across estates and departments as follows:
It added that the corporation also has in its employ, over 11,000 employees at Albion, Blairmont, Uitvlugt, La Bonne Intention Head Office and other locations. It said that due to increasing security concerns along with its re-organising programme, measures are being implemented to “better align financial systems in an effort to improve efficiency and minimize risks”.
The Corporation said that more information will be provided shortly on the review process to develop the most appropriate and convenient payment system.
In the meantime, it said that pensioners are invited to contact the Human Resources Departments at the various estates and LBI Head Office for further information.
On April 27, pensioners protested outside the GuySuCo LBI office over the proposed change. Currently, the pensioners would collect their weekly or monthly earnings from payment centres that are situated close to their homes and the new system would see them having to travel to the nearest banks to uplift their monies. Their union, GAWU added that the ex-workers are “strongly contending” that the spontaneous change in the payment method would place an additional burden on the former workers.
“For instance, they would be required to travel to the nearest bank to collect their pension sums which for some of them is a very meagre amount to begin with. For those pensioners who do not have bank accounts, we need not explain the travails one has to go through now-a-days to open an account,” the statement said, while adding that some of the pensioners have related to them that they lack essential prerequisites that they would need to open a bank account, including a TIN certificate or proof of address, since some of them are residing with their children.
