Field workers, who previously worked with the Rose Hall Estate and who have been transferred to the Albion Sugar Estate, are demanding their severance pay, saying efforts are being made to frustrate them and management of Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) seems to be in a direct ploy to force them to leave the job.
The workers staged a picketing exercise outside the old Rose Hall Estate compound, chanting “Severance! Severance. No wuk.”
Workers are upset over the working conditions at the Albion Estate. Speaking with the media, the workers said the persons who were transferred from the Rose Hall Estate are being discriminated against by the management of GuySuCo.
According to the workers, they are not told where they have to work until they arrive each morning at the estate. The workers also alleged that even if the work is not worth their labour, they are forced to work since the lorry driver refuses to take them back home.
Some of the workers told this publication that the crop commenced five weeks ago and to date they are still to receive tools.
The workers also claimed they have to travel long distances to get to work. In fact, some of them claim that on occasions, it is almost four hours after leaving home that they arrive at their work site.
They say they are being asked to fetch cane from further distances while the machine works the close cane to load punts.
The hardship, the workers said, had resulted in their earnings being reduced by more than 60 per cent.
Only last week workers who were transferred from the said Rose Hall Estate to the Blairmont Estate downed tools in protest, citing similar concerns.
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) will meet with the workers today.
Meanwhile, in a statement, GuySuCo said the strike action is illegal and is in breach of the ‘Extant Collective Labour Agreement’ existing between GuySuCo and representative Union.
