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Originally Posted by Red Wine:

I would also urged Indians to stop growing baigan and show the Afros who get more seed than baigan.  

When you all can prove that Indians give black people free food then you can prove that Indians will not suffer by losing this lucrative market.

 

If they attempt to starve G/town the supermarkets which profit from selling food will import it from some where.  The DR produces far more food than does Guyana, and are very willing to supply G/town, just as they do NYC.

FM
Originally Posted by caribny:
Originally Posted by BGurd_See:
The issue is that Guyana does not currently have the capability to produce raw sugar competitively with the rest of the world . 

And yet you demand that they became even more uncompetitive by increasing wages, when GAWU will also continue to resist the use of labor saving technologies.

I demand nothing, it is the sugar workers who are putting a value on their labor. The labor cost should increase, this will push Guysuco to be more efficient via mechanization and employing modern techniques or close down.

FM
Originally Posted by Gilbakka:
 

BG_S, there is nothing new under the sun. When the PPP won the 1992 election President Jagan continued implementing the main features of Desmond Hoyte's Economic Recovery Programme [ERP].

For most of his political life, Cheddi Jagan advocated "nationalization of the commanding heights of the economy." He supported Burnham's nationalization of bauxite and sugar companies and banks and even called on Burnham to nationalize the foreign insurance companies too. When Dr Jagan got into government, however, he retained the Privatization Unit which Hoyte had formed to sell off state corporations and agencies.

When the PPP was in the opposition, Dr Jagan used to condemn the PNC regime for accepting "IMF diktat." However, after 1992 the PPP government itself accepted IMF terms.

The PPP regime also retained the Social Impact Amelioration Programme [SIMAP] which Hoyte had set up and which was funded from the sales of wheat flour that the US was giving Guyana free under its PL480 Program.

The PPP government got the most royalty from Omai Gold Mines which started operating under an agreement with Hoyte and Greenidge.

Both Presidents Cheddi and Janet Jagan governments collected their portions of dividends from GT&T which Hoyte had sold to foreigners while keeping 20% shareholding.

I can give more examples showing how President Jagan's government carried on and benefited from Hoyte's PNC regime's policies. No one said Jagan and the PPP were shameless. Politics is politics. It is unrealistic to expect the APNU+AFC government to start from scratch with its own policies and programmes, to reinvent the wheel. Present governments build on the foundations of past governments. So it goes.

 

What is different is that the afc/apnu were cussing down the PPP for these same initiatives. You are saying this comes with the territory of politics? Criticize the incumbent's policies and then adapt them once in power?

FM

GAWU’s General Council puts strike on hold

… makes last ditch proposal before downing tools

 

By Michael Younge

 

The 50-member General Council of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) on Saturday decided to put its planned countrywide strike on hold so that a final claim could be made to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) for discussions on the Annual Production Incentives for workers which is due to be paid at year-end.

GAWU President Komal Chand

GAWU President Komal Chand

The Annual Production Incentive (API) is enjoyed by all staff when the industry achieves and exceeds the production targets set for a given period. GuySuCo has consistently reported that it has been achieving its weekly and monthly production targets since the new Government came into power and the overall targets were revised, given some of the constraints faced by the industry. When contacted on Saturday, GAWU President Komal Chand confirmed that a decision was taken at the three and a half hour meeting to put any pending strike action on hold and to seek all other alternatives to get GuySuCo to return to the wages and salaries negotiation table. He said that a majority of the representatives at the General Council Meeting felt that the Union needed to engage GuySuCo on the API issue to see whether its posture would differ from the one exhibited in relation to increases for workers before the year end. “So we have decided to formally submit a proposal to GuySuCo’s management on Monday for consideration and we hope that they will get back to us by the next week”, he said. Asked what were some of the other underlying factors that influenced the decision to the put the strike on hold, Chand said that no formal decision was ever arrived at to strike in the first place but when analysis of the time was done, it revealed that worker turn out would have still been poor, given that it was a holiday in the new week. He explained too that GuySuCo, in anticipating the strike action, failed on Saturday to prepare the fields and estates for harvest as workers turned up and there was little or no work for them to do at the estates. “In a sense, they struck against themselves… we are reminded of the CEO’s utterances that for every day of strike they lose 2000 pounds of sugar so they have self-inflicted a strike today (Saturday) as none occurred from our end”, he explained. Chand stated that the union has also explored the need to get GuySuCo to return to the table and believes that over the next week, more attempts would be made to achieve success in this respect. “We know that the Union is avoiding these wage discussions”, he said, before being asked whether the next step will be to speak directly to Government, to which he responded in the negative as discussions were not formally closed with GuySuCo. Questioned whether his Union is coming under political pressure from the Government, given the utterances of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and the casual posture of Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, Chand responded in the negative. “But I can tell that GuySuCo’s position appears to have a political undertone and seems to be getting support from the Government,” he remarked. He is convinced that any attempt by GuySuCo to reject the offer to discuss the API and other pending issues will see higher levels of solidarity among workers and stronger calls for more assertive action to ensure that sugar workers are paid what they deserve.

FM
Originally Posted by BGurd_See:
 

I demand nothing, it is the sugar workers who are putting a value on their labor. The labor cost should increase, this will push Guysuco to be more efficient via mechanization and employing modern techniques or close down.

And when Guysuco mechanizes, many sugar workers will lose their jobs.

 

I already hear the screams.  "Black man a kill ahbe".  Notably when bauxite workers lost their jobs you all screamed "black man lazy".

 

There is no hope for Guyana.

FM
Originally Posted by asj:

GAWU PUSHES THEIR TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS AND BACK DOWN:  GAWU’s General Council puts strike on hold

 

 

They better had, or many who strike would have found out that they will have no jobs to return to.  The biggest cost is payroll, and so clearly this is a huge component in its cost structure.

FM
Originally Posted by caribny:
Originally Posted by asj:

GAWU PUSHES THEIR TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS AND BACK DOWN:  GAWU’s General Council puts strike on hold

 

 

They better had, or many who strike would have found out that they will have no jobs to return to.  The biggest cost is payroll, and so clearly this is a huge component in its cost structure.

For now, let's just say that GAWU made a sensible decision not to strike.

FM
Originally Posted by Gilbakka:
Originally Posted by caribny:
Originally Posted by asj:

GAWU PUSHES THEIR TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS AND BACK DOWN:  GAWU’s General Council puts strike on hold

 

 

They better had, or many who strike would have found out that they will have no jobs to return to.  The biggest cost is payroll, and so clearly this is a huge component in its cost structure.

For now, let's just say that

GAWU made a sensible decision

not to strike.

Originally Posted by Mitwah:

Sugar workers have to realize that half a loaf is better than  no loaf. This is not the time to strike.

Sugar workers must remember when Jagdeo & Ramotar tried to kill their Union GAWU...Who was there to defend them.

Light a candle for Guyana sugar workers –

Moses Nagamootoo lives

For now, let's just say that

the Sugar Workers remember

Moses the Prime Minister 

is not their enemy...

 

Nagamootoo stood up

with the Sugar Workers when Jagdeo

tried to Destroy them..... 

 

So there is no reason to Strike

 

LIGHT A CANDLE FOR SUGAR WORKERS

Statement by Moses Nagamootoo

 

The threat by the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) to de-recognise the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) is intemperate and reckless.

ADVERTISEMENT
 

The media report that Guysuco has notified GAWU that it is considering to end the 1976 Recognition and the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes Agreement with the union, is an extreme provocation.

This year sugar workers were given not a cent either as wage increase or annual bonus as Guysuco did not achieve its set target. The workers were literally expected to “produce or perish”.

I am shocked that the Government could condone this attack on GAWU and the sugar workers; and that leaders of my party, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), would expect to be in silent conspiracy with this outrage against the vanguard of the working class movement in Guyana.

I can no longer remain silent. This is a grave national matter, and one of conscience.

I dissociate myself from what seems to be a state-party alliance in sledge-hammering GAWU, judging from the leading role of Dr. N.K. Gopaul, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President and former acting Head of the Presidential Secretariat, as Chairman of Guysuco,

and Mr. Donald Ramotar, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), who is a prominent member of the Board.

The sugar workers have been the bedrock of the anti-colonial struggles for independence from Great Britain.

For 28 years (1948-1976) they fought for industrial democracy and won union recognition.

For 28 years (1964-1992) they were in the front trenches for restoration of democratic rule in Guyana.

Their struggles gave birth to the PPP, and were exemplified in the commitment of Cheddi Jagan, the sacrifices of the Enmore Martyrs, Kowsilia, and many others.

No one denies that the sugar industry is in crisis due to a combination of exogenous and internal management factors. Low worker turn-out, work stoppages and inclement weather compounded the problem. But the sugar workers cannot be the only scapegoats for failure.

For many years, I have been associated with the cause of Guyana’s sugar workers and, invariably, marched under their banner in their epic fight for union recognition.

As a young teacher I founded a school to help mainly sugar workers’ children to get an education.

Later, as a journalist, I captured in many feature articles the consistent and unwavering struggles in the sugar belt.

And I can attest that their union has never allowed itself to be intimidated or blackmailed in the past. I expect no more from GAWU which should, with dignity and responsibility, prosecute all reasonable options to end the stalemate in the industry. Strikes must be the last resort.

I also expect Guysuco to re-think its options, and to eschew its intention to de-recognise GAWU.

The de-recognition threat ought to be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally before irreparable damage is done. The Government would do well also to explore all possibilities to give the sugar workers even a nominal wage increase. Zero is an insult, not an option.

I’d like to borrow the poignant words of Ricky Singh, a former colleague of mine, when he wrote several years ago in another context, that we should, as we observe Christmas, “Light a Candle” for our sugar workers.

• When the last administration left office,

GuySuCo’s debt burden stood at $82 BILLION...

Jagdeo & Ramotar left the Sugar Workers

Bankrupt & Broke

 

Prime Minister, Moses Nagamoootoo

says none of the cash-strapped

Guyana Sugar Corporation’s

(Guysuco) estates would be closed,

and hinted that there could be

a greater role for the private sector

in the industry.

Based on his reading of the
Sugar

Industry Commission of Inquiry’s report,

he said definitively that

none of the seven estates

would be shut down.

“I can say, for sure,

that no recommendation

has been made for the closure

of any of the estates.

As far as I know all estates

are open and will be operative

and so there is cause for any

reservations or any cause for alarm,”

he said.

 

The Prime Minister observed

that workers have opted

to remain on the job

rather than resume strike action

to pressure government into talks

for a nine percent increase

in wages and salaries.

 

 

“On the ground,

there isn’t any great passion

for a labour withdrawal

at this time and

I think the sugar workers

are showing great understanding

about the plight of the industry

and not do to anything

that will place it in further jeopardy,”

he said.

FM

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