The GAWU, through a memorandum dated October 29 from the GuySuCo has been advised that the Corporation has decided to extend the ongoing second sugar crop to week-ending December 20, 2019. Our Union in a statement of October 25 did point out that the Corporation could not have realized its production target by the time the crop was set to end. Of course, in that statement that based on the performance of the Corporation during the crop, thus far, we estimated that the target may not be realized at Albion and Blairmont Estates.
The Corporation, in its memorandum, said “[t]here is the possibility of some Estate[s]carrying over canes into 1st Crop 2020”. It seems to say, from our point of view, that the sugar company is anticipating that not all the canes would be harvested and thus the crop target will be missed. Time, of course, will ultimately answer this question.
The memorandum pointed out too that the company expects to see “…the high levels of attendance sustained…”. This, we see, as an admission by the Company that the workers are turning out, in acceptable levels, on a daily basis. Therefore, the perennial excuse about workers turnout is undermined by the Corporation’s own sentiments. The GAWU, has pointed out, that the main issue has been the functioning of the industry’s factories. Though the Corporation has been saying it has remedied the problems factory breakdown hours has been as follows:-
Albion – 256.1 hours or nearly two (2) weeks of cane processing
Blairmont – 112.6 hours or just under one (1) week of cane processing
Uitvlugt – 179.8 hours or one and one-third of a week cane processing
Through the memorandum, the Corporation has communicated that it has decided to reduce weekly production targets with effect from week-ending November 09, 2019. As such the target at Albion will move from 2,140 tonnes to 2,076 tonnes; Blairmont from 1,275 tonnes to 1,237 tonnes, and Uitvlugt from 1,100 tonnes to 1,067 tonnes. It may be recalled that the workers of Albion on the first day of their crop (August 08) as they protested, among other things, the arbitrary increase of the weekly target. At that time, the Union and the workers pointed out that “…the increase in the Estate’s targets… would be disadvantageous…”. We went on to contend that “…the inability to achieve target through the arbitrary increase could well daunt [the workers]commitment and belie the notion of the incentive in the first place”. The Corporation in its memorandum, interestingly, pointed out, that the reduction of the weekly targets “…will boost employees’ moral[e]…”.
Indeed, the GAWU while not happy about the situation, at the same time, has been saying, for quite some time, that workers commitment has been sapped. It appears to us that the proverbial chickens have come home to roost. The reality of the situation cannot be disconnected from the shabby and discriminatory treatment that has been meted out to workers in recent times. In fact when the history of the industry, under state ownership is considered, this is the worst that the workers have ever been treated. Certainly those who direct and control the Corporation need to remove this imprinted stain of ignominy.
