Uitvlugt Estate which is now in its fifth week of its seven week first crop as at (Friday) March 13 suffered breakdowns aggregating to some 204 hours for the first crop. To put the lengthy time into perspective, the hours lost arising from breakdowns is equivalent to more than a week and a half of operations.
As at last weekend (March 14), Uitvlugt’s sugar production stood at 3,559 tonnes. According to the Corporation’s crop schedule, Uitvlugt, at that point in time, ought to have produced 4,837 tonnes sugar. Thus, the estate, in all likelihood, will not realize its targeted production in the scheduled crop weeks.
We should add that sugar production, for the industry, as at last weekend stood at 10,819 tonnes. Albion had produced 3,642 tonnes sugar as against 5,670 tonnes targeted. At Blairmont, sugar production was 3,638 tonnes sugar as against 4,662 tonnes targeted. Aggregately, the industry’s production, at last weekend, was in deficit by 4,330 tonnes sugar.
The GAWU, on many occasions, has had to lament the functioning of the three (3) factories under the charge of GuySuCo. We did warn a few weeks ago that, from information reaching us, there was not much work done to really improve the reliability of the factories. At a subsequent engagement, the Corporation sought to express critical views regarding what the Union had said, though it could not have offered, from our perspective, any credible rationale for its position.
Dismayingly, it appears, all that we heard, and what was sought to be denied by the Corporation, is being demonstrated. We cannot help but feel there is hardly anything really done to address what clearly, in our view, is a situation growing more serious by the day. We ask where is the industry heading?
