Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 03, 2012 News
– threaten to withdraw from GAWU
Hundreds of cane harvesters from the Blairmont Estate have taken industrial action
again. The embattled workers, who have been engaged in protest action as long as three weeks ago, downed their tools again on Thursday and continued their strike action yesterday.
And the issue remains the same; the customer practice, obstacle payments, among the other issues workers said the senior officials of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) said on a TV programme last week were resolved but in reality were not.
Several cane harvesters from the various gangs gathered once more in front of the estate on Friday morning to voice their concerns. The workers are now threatening to withdraw their names from GAWU for further representation since they believe the union is selling them short and misleading the public on the level of representation given to them.
Gang 6B representative, Julian Nurse said “the top brass of the union is not doing anything for the workers on the ground floor”.
Kaieteur News was told that Mr. Harvey Tambarin, GAWU head in the Berbice area and H. Ramdayal, Field Secretary of Blairmont were present on Thursday morning and were supposed to return to have issues resolved with the 6B Harvesting gang.
“But they did not get back to them so this morning (Friday) the workers went into the backdam and left to protest that they want their names to come out from the union because the union is not representing them– the top brass of the union, not the ground floor where the reps are”.
The workers also noted that the Memorandum of Understanding between the Guyana Sugar Corporation and GAWU “can’t work…you cannot sign an MOU, because it don’t make no sense for one week or 10 days…let we go back what we accustom to”.
“You can bring Paul Bhim and let we put he in the field and let we see. We can give he the cutlass– we can go work in he space and give he the cutlass, and see if he can make what we making everyday– straight up!” Nurse said.
“We want take out the GAWU office from the GuySuCo property; we ain’t want no union office here– let them keep the office out of the property… because the union and management are the same!”
“Them getting air- conditioned in there; let them go on the backdam and see the air- condition that the workers them getting; sun or rain they getting air- condition, what are we getting on the backdam? From 5:30 am, rain beating us from our homes to go to the backdam and come back, rain again”, another worker said.
Overcrowding in trucks was also another concern raised by the workers among other unsafe practices.
Another representative, Anil Sammy, said that he met with the Estate Manager on Thursday regarding the issues that the workers want to be addressed but got no positive response.
“Everyday you go in the backdam and you have some problem– last week we go out to work and when we go, they said we gotta cut six open cane then we will get we long carriage.”
“If you don’t cut that, you’re not entitled to any of your extra and as such, the workers say they are not going back to work unless they get satisfaction from the union or somebody”.
Mahendra Persaud, another worker, accused the company of “trying to take away all the customer practice from us and every day they are taking something that we used to enjoy away from us”.
“All the things the workers used to enjoy are gone away from them and to be honest, and the union, at the top level…knows these things are happening to the workers and none of them ain’t coming to have discussions with the workers and know the cry of the workers”.
He is demanding the top brass of the union visit the aggrieved workers “and intervene with the people them and know what is their cries and concerns…come and hear.. they coming and going on TV…they cannot reach the people on TV…let them come and hear the workers’ views and concerns”.
He added that if the Minister of Agriculture wants the 265,000 tons of sugar, “let him come with the people at Blairmont Estate and he will know what happen…this estate will fall”.
The workers want the customer practice matters addressed immediately. “Somebody from the top brass of the union should be here. Just like how them does come out and keep bottom- house meetings, let them come out and face the people them because this will continue to happen”. We are paying this union to represent us; it is not a favour we asking them”.
Ramanand Lakehram noted that “since Sunday to now we ain’t earn a full day’s pay yet, because sheer victimisation taking place and poor working conditions”.
“Nothing ain’t address– they go on TV and said it was addressed, but it get worst”.
WORKSHOP ON STRIKE
Meanwhile, later yesterday, over 50 workers from the workshop also ceased work over an issue that deals with medicals. According to a worker from the group, “when you reach 40 years and you obtain a medical certificate (when you are ill), you are not allowed to go back to work– but under a new thing, workers are mandated to turn out to work. The worker alleged that the Workshop Manager Superintendent has failed to have dialogue with the workers.
Kaieteur News was informed that no names have been taken off the union list as yet and workers who do so “do so at their own risk”.
It appears that there seems to be poor communication between the top level of the union with the workers and it would also appear that there are several disagreements between the Field Secretaries and the workers’ representatives. Numerous other workers had their own isolated problems to share with this newspaper, all of which encompass their concerns and are contributing to the general withdrawal of labour currently ongoing once again at the estate.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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