The GAWU, from a report on newscast Newsroom, was surprised to learn that operations at East Demerara and Skeldon Estates when they resume expectedly not too long from now would see cane cutting being undertaken by a contractor reportedly from West Coast Demerara. The report, if it is correct, is upsetting as it seems to indicate that a very few, if any, of the displaced workers would have an opportunity to be re-employed. It is incredulous that such an endeavour would be contemplated especially given the despairing situation that very many of the workers and their families currently find themselves. Added to that the informal employment relations being promoted has been shown to promote impoverishment while flouting protections, legal and otherwise, offered to workers. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has found that the promotion of such arrangements has served to expand the army of the working-poor across the world.
The newscast also reported that East Demerara and Skeldon were expected to resume for about two (2) weeks and one (1) month respectively. The timelines outlined in the report, if they are accurate, certainly raises eyebrows. The resumption is intended, from what we saw in the press, to ensure that the estates remain in an acceptable state and that their values are maximized. With those objectives in mind, we hardly see how they can be realized given the crop duration advised by the Newsroom report.
Though we are aware that GuySuCo did not undertake much crop husbandry work in the two (2) estates named in the last year, we find it difficult to accept that just a small quantity of harvestable canes remain. Furthermore, we are aware that both East Demerara and Skeldon Estates did not manage to harvest all the available canes before they were closed at the end of 2017. But more than that the canes harvested last year have naturally re-grown and can be harvested. Should they not be harvested this will present additional difficulties, as overgrown canes, and serve to undermine the intention to secure maximum value.
The report also informed that an Executive Chairman of GuySuCo would be appointed bringing an end to the long-standing practice of non-executive directors. It is the only state-owned enterprise, as far as we are aware, to have such an arrangement. The Corporation, we recall, was previously led by Executive Directors and the results were not generally positive. Moreover, we are not aware of the justifications for the decision to revert to having Executive Directors once again. We also learnt that the Corporation’s Board would be expanded by four (4) directors. While we are hopeful that the new Board of Directors will comprise of ‘fit and proper’ individuals we recognise that there seemingly is no intention to expand workers participation beyond a single director. The workers play a key role in the industry and, we believe, should be integrally involved in the Corporation’s decision-making hierarchy.
While we cannot verify the veracity of the press report we, at the same time, cannot ignore what the media is saying either particularly with respect to the industry. As recent history has shown more often than not media reports are generally accurate as we recall the exposure of the Wales closure decision, or the Exxon signing bonus or the Ministerial pay hike.
