GAWU asks govt. to waive income tax

Dec 23, 2009 News

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has written Government asking for a waiver of the income tax on the retroactive pay on the recently awarded three per cent increase for sugar workers.
GAWU, in the letter on Monday to Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, requested the Ministry’s “consideration to waive the Income Tax on the retroactive payment of three (3) per cent from 1st January, 2009 arising from the Gobind Ganga Arbitral Tribunal recommendation.”
Sugar workers are expected to receive the retroactive pay before Christmas as promised by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) last week.
GAWU, in arguing the case for the tax waiver, said that similar deserving steps were taken in the past when public servants received a special $4,000 allowance awarded to them last year.
The letter, written by GAWU’s General Secretary, Seepaul Narine, was also copied to Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, and GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer, Errol Hanoman.
President of GAWU, Komal Chand, yesterday explained that taxing the “measly” three per cent was already small and to further tax it effectively would be placing only two per cent in the hands of workers.
In October, wage talks between GuySuCo and GAWU broke down after the Corporation refused to budge from a three per cent offer. GAWU had demanded 15 per cent but came down to 10 per cent.
Conciliation talks went nowhere and Government had stepped in last month and ordered a compulsory Arbitration.
A three-person Tribunal headed by Bank of Guyana’s Dr. Gobind Ganga earlier this month “recommended” a three per cent increase.
GuySuCo was given until March next year to give workers the retroactive pay, which becomes effective January 1, 2009.
After GuySuCo promised to start paying the increase effective January1, 2010, GAWU had picketed the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Guyana and several sugar estates to pressure for payments before Christmas.
Last week, the cash-strapped Corporation said that it had worked out a deal and rearranged payments to creditors and will be paying workers their retroactive increase by this week.