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Apr 27, 2016 Letters
Dear Editor,
I have exercised extreme restraint from commenting on GuySuCo’s press releases and its public commentaries on its intended closure of the LBI Estate operations, because I do not want to interfere with its work or get embroiled in its ongoing dispute with the sugar unions However, the unions, GAWU and NAACIE, in their joint letter to the press on April 22 have identified me, former Human Resources Director with the company, as the one who gave them an assurance that only the LBI factory will be merged with Enmore.
Lest it be interpreted that I am responsible, by any measure, for the current raging dispute between the Union and GuySuCo on the merger issue I feel compelled to clear the air on what actually took place in 2011 on the closure of the LBI factory. The core of the current disputation, in my opinion, is the Unions claiming on one hand that they were assured in 2011 that only the factory will be merged with Enmore, and the company, on the other hand, is claiming that the merger for not only the factory, but all other operating departments at LBI started in 2011.
Let me state before outlining the details that expose the reality of 2011 that it was never the intention of the company in 2011 to close any other operation beyond that of the LBI factory.It’s plainly misleading for the company to state that the “integration of the two estates was done in a haphazard manner, and as such was not properly implemented”, and that the integration process of the departments other than the factory started in 2011.
Neither GAWU nor NAACIE was engaged in any discussion other than that pertaining to the merger of the 2 factories in 2011. The merger of the 2 factories was completed in a manner acceptable by law, in accordance with standard labour relations practices and in full compliance with the mandate of the Board of Directors.
Editor, a decision and process that border on the closing of an estate within GuySuCo is of such magnitude that no corporate officer could afford or risk not to act within the clear mandate of the Board of Directors. As the Human Resources Director then, I was tasked with the responsibility by the Board to deal with all the human resources and labour relations issues surrounding a successful merger of the LBI and Enmore factories, and I acted accordingly.
At the Board of Directors’ meeting on February 9, 2011 held at the White House, LBI Compound under the chairmanship of Dr. N.K. Gopaul and including Paul Bhim, acting CEO, the “consolidation/merger” of the LBI factory with Enmore, among other items, was discussed.
At this meeting, Yusuf Abdul, General Manager Technical Services sought through a documented presentation the Board’s approval for “the deployment of the LBI factory staff after the factory ceases grinding operations to locations described in the foregoing”. The “foregoing” were: – assigned to factory (52 workers), retain at LBI powerhouse (21), Enmore packaging plant (30), Electrical& Instrument Workshop (16), Excess (15) Possible Early Retirement (12) and LBI Administrative Office (2) – a total of 148 workers.
The Board then approved “the consolidation of LBI and Enmore Factories after the closure of the current crop at LBI. It is optional for employees to accept early retirement benefit. There shall be no imposition of severance or early retirement. The Board further approves the upgrade of the Enmore factory to 120 TCH (tonnes cane per hour)”. It’s quite pellucid that no approval was given beyond the closure (consolidation) of the LBI factory.
At the Board of Directors’ meeting on March 2, 2011 held at the White House, LBI Compound the Board requested that “discussions with the Unions on the merger of LBI & Enmore factories should be accelerated so that workers at LBI could be moved to Enmore before the severance allowances at Diamond are paid”.
It is obvious that request for discussions with the Unions was restricted to the mergers of the LBI & Enmore factories. At the same March 2nd meeting, Bhim presented to the Board in his Operations Report that “it was decided that the LBI factory will not be dismantled until Enmore factory is operating well, and that management should proceed with the preparatory work at Enmore to accommodate the punt dumper”. Bhim’s report did not go beyond the closure of the factory.
At a Management Committee meeting, under the chairmanship of Bhim, held on March 9, 2011 at Rose Hall Estate, discussions, among other items, focused on the “merger of the LBI and Enmore factories”, and at this meeting it was communicated that “the merger is planned for March 18, 2011, tentatively”, and that “interviews are being conducted in the establishment”. Under the Departmental Reports at this meeting, the following was noted “They (workers) will be informed of their location and alternative transportation arrangements”. All were in reference to the LBI factory and LBI factory workers; no other operating departments.
The following was extracted from the “Action Points from March 2, 2011 Board Meeting under item 13 -”Action to be taken by the Human Resources Director – Acceleration of discussions of LBI & Enmore factories merger” – and the status was “Merger has been completed on March 18, all workers have taken up their new positions on March 22, 2011”. The Board’s mandate was accomplished.
The assurance to the Unions that only the factory will be affected by the merger was in accordance with the Board’s decision and was given at the first meeting held with them on February 22, 2011 at LBI Training Room. At this meeting, Abdul and Raymond Sangster, General Manager, Agriculture Services ,corporate representatives of the company, made contributions to justify the merger. Sangster, who had overarching responsibilities for agriculture operations throughout the company, including mill dock, field office, cane transport, general field workers and field workshop, made no mention of merging, consolidating or integrating any these units with Enmore. As a matter of fact, he assured that they will not be affected, and that “only the canes harvested at LBI will be transported to Enmore for processing”.
The meeting on February 22 was the only one that dealt with the concept and purpose of consolidating the 2 factories. There were 2 subsequent meetings, but they all focused on the redeployment of workers from LBI to Enmore, criteria for early retirement, payment of holiday with pay for LBI workers and the interviewing process with each employee.
Editor, if there was a need to merge all the other operating departments so that “the integration process” would not lead “to the detriment of the economics of EDE”, as claimed by the company in a separate press release, then it behooved that Bhim, as the CEO in 2011, and who is now a member of the Interim Management, should have insisted that the Board approved beyond the merger of the LBI factory to include all the other operating departments. He did not.
I seek not to interfere or intervene in the works of the sugar company or the stance of the Unions, nor to influence any ongoing outcomes, but as a matter of clarity for my own public image, I thought it would be prudent to state the facts as they relate to the closure, consolidation, merger, integration of the LBI and Enmore Estates, and will refrain hereafter making anyfurther comment on this matter; unless there is any disputation of the facts.
Jai Petam
Former Human Resources Director
GuySuCo
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