350 continuing r severance
Dent’s office
ate-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) to abide y the provisions of the Termination of Employment and everance Pay Act. The union says that under TESPA these orkers are entitled to severance as the offer of positions at the tivlugt sugar estate breached the provisions of the severance w. This matter is also before the court. The GAWU statement said that the workers had recently writn again to President David Granger, the second time in recent onths, seeking his intervention in having GuySuCo settle its bligations to the 350 workers. In his initial response, the presient had committed that Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder ould examine the matter and they would hear from him. everal months have passed, and not having heard from the griculture Minister, the workers wrote to the president again, nd are still awaiting a response. According to the union’s release, the workers are aware, rough press reports, that Minister Holder had expressed the ew that the matter should be determined by the judiciary, while e workers are contending that that is unnecessary given the nambiguity of the relevant legislation. Meanwhile, GAWU is alling on the minister to carefully reexamine the matter.
The release also said that the workers were disturbed that uySuCo’s acting CEO, Paul Bhim had been reported in the ress as saying that should the workers fail to report to Uitvlugt state, though it is beyond the lawful radius set out in the severnce Act, they would be deemed as having self-terminated. ccording to the union, the workers were upset by these coments and view them as another ploy to pressure them to begin orking at Uitvlugt Estate, where, in their opinion, there is sufficient work for them and the cane cutting force at that tate. The GAWU release reiterated that the government and uySuCo’s plans to make Wales Estate the launching pad for its on-sugar diversification, despite the union’s reminder of the ilure of the last foray, have been short-lived and abandoned. he possibilities of resuming sugar production remain challengg, as many important factory components have been removed nd installed at other estates. The union said that despite nnouncements that the factory was old, the transferred compoents had performed well. The union’s media release reminded that a large void has been ft at the communities that were linked with the now closed Wales Estate, and many hundreds of former workers at the estate main jobless and are facing a difficult future. Today a large void has been left at the communities that were nked with the now closed estate, the union said. For many of e hundreds who were employed they remain jobless and those ho secure jobs, generally on a temporary basis, find their earngs far less than what they earned when they worked at Wales.