Sugar workers from across the country will soon benefit from improved wages among other benefits. These perks for sugar workers were revealed by President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) Seepaul Narine, who highlighted that the union and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) are currently locked in negotiation regarding improved wages and benefits for sugar workers.
In an interview with this publication on Monday Narine disclosed that consultations are already underway with GuySuCo on the issue of improved wages and benefits for sugar workers.
“Certainly, they are likely to get an increase this year too… We are currently in negotiations with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).”
Whist, he did not disclose what percentage increase the union is currently lobbying for, Narine reaffirmed its commitment towards ensuring sugar workers receive proper wages. In fact, he revealed that under the PPP/C administration, sugar estate workers benefited from increased wages annually. He asserted that this was something the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition failed to do within their full term in office.
“From 2020 they have had increases every year, every year. From 2015 to 2019 there have not been any increases under the previous government.”
Moreover, Narine highlighted that through the union’s work and government initiatives sugar estate workers receive additional financial benefits apart from their salaries.
“Whatever is being paid, it’s paid at the prescribed rate, what is agreed to and that is prevailing at all the estates. An incentive rate that is added and it goes all the way up to more than double depending on the output, and then there is also, there’s also other things that they get paid for as well.”
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) is the largest trade union in Guyana. It was founded in 1946 as the Guiana Industrial Workers’ Union. After failing in the 1950s it was reformed as the Guyana Sugar Workers’ Union in 1961 but changed its name to Guyana Agricultural Workers’ Union in 1962 before becoming the GAWU later that decade.
The union was established to represent workers’ interests with a view to ensure their rights and benefits are respected and to also engage employers in collective bargaining to improve wages, benefits and conditions of work.
Meanwhile, earlier this year President Irfaan Ali had signalled that the government is working to find the right formula to improve wages for sugar workers while enhancing their skills.
Moreover, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has injected over $17 billion into the sugar industry and currently supporting close to 8000 workers.
Between 2016 and 2017, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) regime closed several estates across Guyana – an action that displaced more than 7000 sugar workers, who were not only without jobs but who had no means to support their families and contribute to their village as well as the national economy.
However, since assuming office in August 2020, the PPP/C Government has undertaken a slew of measures to revive the sugar sector and rehired hundreds of those dismissed workers.
The PPP/C had promised in its manifesto to revive sugar and reopen these estates. However, after the assets at Wales Estate were sold out by the APNU/AFC regime, the Government announced plans to establish a Development Authority, where several major industrial operations would be undertaken. Similarly, the Enmore Sugar Estate is also being transformed into an industrial area.
