It was most disconcerting for the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) to learn from workers of Skeldon Estate that the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (GuySuCo) has decided not to undertake any land tilling and cane planting for the remainder of the year at that estate. Furthermore, the Union was even more disturbed and shocked when it learnt that the application of herbicides and fertilizers to canes has also been discontinued by the Corporation as well. In fact, we have been advised that the Corporation has had Skeldon’s tillage tractors transferred to other estates. Similarly, we understand that Skeldon’s stock of fertilizers is being sent to other estates. In the case of the cane planters and the spray hands, they have been compelled to undertake cane cutting and rat catching tasks respectively. The decision by GuySuCo can be likened to cutting one’s nose to spite his face.
Our Union is most perplexed by GuySuCo’s actions especially noting that Skeldon is expected to remain in sugar production and thus the strong need for the maintenance of the cultivation. With the intended divestment of Skeldon still not popularly supported in Guyana or at least still some way off it follows that the estate would operate under GuySuCo’s banner for some time more and, therefore, we are even more confounded by the sugar company’s unwise decisions.
From our perspective, the decision to end these important field operations is another sordid attempt to paint Skeldon as a poor performer and to strengthen the call for its divestment. The GAWU holds strongly to the view that with the recent repairs to the boilers and the correction of defects in the factory over the last few years, the factory is now poised to demonstrate its potential and to throw cold water on its many naysayers. Such a state of affairs would be most embarrassing to the divestment cheerleaders. It is in this context we see the spiteful decision to starve the factory of canes. Someone(s) is undermining the Skeldon Estate’s performance it would appear
The seemingly deliberate running down of the cane cultivation also has several wider and important implications. Certainly, lesser canes in the field would serve to reduce the estate’s value and allowing it to be sold cheaply to possibly a chosen, favoured buyer. Furthermore, lesser canes would obviously impact on the current field workers who would have reduced work opportunity in subsequent crops and thus reducing their earning capacity which will affect the wider communities and scores of vendors and businesses.
In view of the unfolding situation, the Union wrote the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer urging a meeting consistent with the relevant agreement between the GAWU and the GuySuCo. Through our letter, we pointed out to GuySuCo, that these developments which have significant bearing on the workers were not discussed with them at the estate nor were the representative Unions engaged. On that score, we called on the GuySuCo to have an urgent engagement. In the first place, the Corporation was obligated to engage us on these matters and it was only after GAWU’s exposure that the Union, which was being kept in the dark, was invited by GuySuCo on September 22, 2017 to a meeting to be held at Skeldon Estate on September 26, 2017.
GAWU wishes, with these developments in mind, to emphasize that we remain staunchly opposed to plans by GuySuCo and the Administration to divest Skeldon Estate. We hold that the investment in correcting defects is bearing fruit and its sale would see the owner of the estate benefitting tremendously. Furthermore, there is absolutely no guarantee that the new owners would sustain the employment of all the workers nor is there any surety that the workers hard-won benefits, rights, and conditions would be respected. These are major concerns of the Union and workers, and certainly lay bare the nature of those in authority. Such a rollback is not in the interest of the people, the economy and the country and the decision makers should really listen to the cries and pleas of the people.
