The GAWU’s attention was drawn to an article appearing on the website of media house Newsroom titled “GuySuCo offers 5% salary increase to employees”. The article referred to a statement issued by the sugar company in which the Corporation says it is seeking to “…debunk claims by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) that it is only offering a 1% increase”. Our Union finds the Corporation’s statement both misleading and mischievous.
The GAWU, being respectful to the discussions, had not divulged any detail regarding the Corporation’s proposal save and except to say that a proposal had been put forward and there were certain aspects which the Union found agreement with and others which we disagreed with. We, therefore, are at a loss how is it that GuySuCo would seek to communicate that our Union informed the public about a 1 per cent increase. We did recognize the Newsroom saying “[o]n February 7, GAWU said it will consider the offer made by GuySuCo but did not disclose what was offered.” This is a complete contrast to what the GuySuCo is apparently alleging.
To set the record straight, the GuySuCo has only offered a 5 per cent pay rise for workers engaged in piece-rated activities. For those engaged in time-rated work, it has proposed $20 increase for those at the Band One level and $18 for those who are in Bands Two to Five. Those increases range between 4.1 to 7.84 per cent. Apart from that it has proposed that a $4,000 per month increase for monthly-paid employees, which is equivalent to a 3.9 per cent increase at the minimum level for foremen and 4.62 per cent for charge hands. Of significance, the Corporation wishes to implement the new increases from January 01, this year.
The GAWU, after consulting workers, has put to the Corporation that no worker receives less than a 5 per cent pay increase. Importantly, the Union and the workers have stressed that the increases be retroactive to January 01, 2019. Such stance is taken against the background that the Union and the Corporation discussions regarded the GAWU’s claims for 2019 and thus any increase ought to be implemented from the beginning of that year. It was at this point that the parties ended their discussions last Wednesday (February 12, 2019).
We see the Corporation’s finger-pointing as unhelpful and clearly misplaced. Whether it was deliberate or inadvertent, at this time, is really meaningless as the Corporation sought to sully, without any foundation, the name and reputation of the GAWU. Certainly, our Union will have to re-consider our statements on this matter in the future.
