– GAWU asks factory representatives to resign from the unionBy Rustom SeegopaulThe workers of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Wales Estate turned up for work yesterday, saying that their strike action was over. They had been taking strike action over the last few days of last week.The workers had been striking for a total of three days, over the non payment of their annual production incentive (API).Speaking with Kaieteur News, Gordon Thomas, a factory representative of the workers, said that it was safe to say that the strike was over. Even though the strike had finished,Jerseys Wholesale, the factory representatives of the workers had a meeting with GAWU yesterday afternoon, where a variety of issues were raised.The most shocking thing that transpired at the meeting, said Thomas, was the fact that President of GAWU,cheap nfl jerseys outlet, Komal Chand, asked the three factory representatives of the workers of the Wales Estate — Thomas, Grafton Williams and Sultan Hussein — to resign from the union.Thomas said that Chand said that their presence represented an opposition within the union. “He said that, ‘there can’t be a union in the union,’” said Thomas.However, the three factory representatives have said that they have no plans to resign. “The workers put us there, and we are not going to resign,” said Hussein.As concerns the 0.79 percent API, reports from the factory representatives have said that Chand will consult the General Council of GAWU. Despite this, GAWU had already said that 0.79 percent, or $50 million, would be returned to GuySuCo.Reports have also said that the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) is to get some of the 0.79 percent API.The factory representatives have confirmed that they will head back to work tomorrow,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, where they will share the outcome of the meetings with the workers at the Wales Estate.“We are meeting with them (workers) tomorrow. We will be working tomorrow. After the discussions, we don’t know what will happen,” said Thomas.Even though the workers turned up for work yesterday, the sugar company was hesitant to start the steam trials for the factory, since the workers had walked off the job on Friday last.According to Thomas, on Friday last, the sugar workers turned up for work as usual. One of the factory managers called the workers’ representative (Thomas) and asked if they would strike again, since GuySuCo wanted to continue the testing, which usually goes on just before grinding time at the factory.Starting up the machinery would incur a cost to the sugar company, and the factory manager said that if the workers were going to strike, then they would not start up the machines.The representative said that the workers had come to work. With that, the boilers were lit and preparations were made to begin the trials. It was at this point that the workers walked off. “The workers here are frustrated because they have not received their API,” Thomas said on Friday. “So we are taking the necessary measures to frustrate them.”Just after the strike action began, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) met with GuySuCo and the decision was taken that the workers would receive eight percent API, and the remaining 0.79 percent would be channelled through the union for workers’ educational activities. GAWU said that GuySuCo agreed to this. This move angered the sugar workers.Since this move caused some contention, the General Secretary of GAWU,Wholesale China Jerseys, Seepaul Narine, noted that he had dispatched a letter to the sugar company, advising them that since the move to use the 0.79 percent for workers’ educational activities had caused such contention amongst the workers, it would be better for the 0.79 percent API to remain with GuySuCo.This agreement, said Narine, would affect all of the GuySuCo workers, irrespective of which union represented them.According to the General Secretary of GAWU, the matter of the outstanding API has been resolved, with the workers receiving eight percent API by means of five per cent of the incentive being paid within a month’s time, and the additional three per cent by mid-September.Thomas had previously said that the workers were anticipating a 12 percent API during last year, but the union was bent on paying nine percent.With the assistance of Chief Labour Officer Mohamed Akeel,Wholesale Jerseys USA, the two sides agreed to an 8.79 percent increase. Thomas said that this increase should have been given to workers by the end of last month.Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GuySuCo, Nick Jackson, had said, a day into the strike, that the problems at the Wales Estate needed to be fixed, since some 15 tonnes of sugar needed to be delivered to Europe; and for the shipment to get there on time, the shipment would need to leave Guyana by the end of the first week of March.“Everything that puts that at risk affects us,” said Jackson, saying that GuySuCo had discussions with the union and the matters had been laid to rest. Right now,Billy Price Jersey, he said,Wholesale Jerseys, the problem is with a pocket of workers in Wales, and the union needs to sort it out.
