Georgetown : Minister of Labour, Dr. Nanda Gopaul today announced the establishment of a Commission of Enquiry to investigate the charges made by the workers of the Blairmont Sugar Estate, Region Five.
In a letter to the General Secretary of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), Seepaul Narine, the Minister indicated that the Committee will comprise Dr. Dale Bisnauth as Chairman, Industrial Relations Officer, Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Deodat Sukhu and Mohamed Akeel.
He also called for full resumption of work and urged the workers to allow for due process and a mechanism that is fair to all, to prevail.
The Committee will commence its work as soon as work is resumed and is expected to submit its findings within three weeks.
“I would also like to assure workers that GuySuCo has made a commitment to pay Annual Production Incentive (API) by March 16, 2012, to honour the recommendations for the joint Job Evaluation Team and to effect payments in accordance with the results of the findings of that evaluation committee before the end of June 2012,” the Minister’s letter stated.
The letter also registered GuySuCo’s concerns over the frequent strikes which are resulting in serious financial impacts on the industry and emphasised that if this continues, the Corporation’s ability to make payments on time will be in jeopardy.
It pointed out that the industry has certain marketing commitments and unwarranted work stoppages can impede its recovery process. Additionally, given the weather current patterns, it is important to maximise the opportunity days for harvesting and grinding of sugar cane to the fullest.
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