API Talks Deadlocked

Conciliatory proceedings between the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) for Annual Production Incentive (API) for 2009 under the Chairmanship of the Chief Labour Officer were declared deadlocked on January 21, 2010 with the Corporation concluding on an offer of 3½ days’ pay in counter to the Union’s claim of 8 days’ pay for the production of 233,735 tonnes sugar last year (2009). The Corporation decreased its offer from 4 days’ pay after the Union finally sought to have a settlement for 8 days’ pay.

The Union’s demand is consistent with the days’ pay awarded over the past years since 1989 and particularly over the four (4) years as follows:-

2005 - For 246,089 tonnes sugar – 7.2 days pay

2006 - For 259,548 tonnes sugar – 10.47 days pay

2007 - For 266,482 tonnes sugar – 12.03 days pay

2008 - For 226,267 tonnes sugar – 8 days pay

The Union notes that the pessimistic picture outlined by the Corporation during the course of the arbitral proceedings last November is shattered as the Corporation has confirmed it made a profit of G$480m in 2009 although the Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud pronounced, according to a report in the January 21, 2010 edition of Kaieteur News, that the Corporation broke even last year.

Annual Production Incentive (API), previously known as Annual Production Bonus (APB) is a component of workers remuneration. The stakeholders of the industry never failed to treat this important element of workers remuneration otherwise. Its description as an INCENTIVE is a misnomer.

Again the anti-workers perspective of the state-owned Corporation has come to the fore. The assault on the working class continues unabatedly not least in the sugar industry. While the Union and the Corporation were engaged during the conciliatory proceedings, the Corporation wrote the Union by letter dated January 14, 2010 threatening it (the Union) and the workers in reference to the workers protest actions against the Corporation’s refusal to be compromising in securing a settlement to the API dispute. The Guysuco letter states inter alia “… we hereby put your Union on notice that should it indulge in such harmful tactics, we may have no alternative but to withdraw our offer of four days’ pay as an API for year 2009.”

This threatening and insultiing language of the Corporation toward GAWU and the sugar workers and the withdrawal of the 4 days’ pay offer can never be the sole decision of the Corporation. That the hands and the directives of the authorities without which the Corporation’s negotiating personnel could not have acted so brazenly is obvious. This can be seen not only with its threat but also with the 4 days’ pay offer, now downgraded to 3½ days’.

Sugar workers need to recognize that in defending their rightful API award and other rights, etc, they and their Union would be chastised, threatened in order to cower them into submission by their oppressors including those who posed as their friends.

Members of the Union’s negotiating team from the eight (8) sugar locations are distraught at the conclusion of the conciliation process but nevertheless committed themselves to defend the workers’ rights, interests and benefits. They and Union leaders will sensitize the thousands of members of the Union over the next few days after which a meeting of the team will take place to consider options which are available to pursue the present API struggle.

The wider Guyanese nation must also take note as sugar is still pivotal to the national economy. Disgruntled, dissatisfied sugar workers are not what is needed in that industry right now. (Tune in to the GAWU-Guysuco API Deadlock on Sunday January 24, 2010 at 16:30h on CNS Channel Six)