Georgetown: Albion harvesters since the commencement of the current crop that started on June 28, 2013 have been objecting to Skeldon harvesters harvesting canes at Albion. Despite having seven meetings with the representatives from Skeldon and Albion with a cross section of workers from both estates and the leadership of the Union; the workers remain adamant that Skeldon must not harvest canes at Albion.
The last such meeting was held on July 10, where an agreement was reached between the Corporation and the Union that Skeldon will harvest canes at Albion from July 14.
According to Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) the workers refused to abide by the agreement and went on strike yesterday for the second time over this issue; the first such strike was on July 7. The average daily attendance of Albion harvesters from the commencement of this crop to date is 718, which could only provide canes for 11 hours of grinding per day; thereby incurring 13 hours of out of canes to the factory. Canes are presently being harvested fully manually, due to the inclement weather that is preventing the use of the Bell Loaders for semi mechanical harvesting. With this level of attendance and the Bell Loaders not being used, the existing crop will not only be extended into the December rains, but it will cause an enormous amount of out of canes from now until the first week in August when Skeldon crop is due to commence. The out of canes is also resulting in substantial amount of fuel being used in the factory thus contributing to increased costs.
The Skeldon harvesters could provide canes for an additional four hours of grinding per day, which is equivalent to 60 tonnes of sugar. Had Skeldon harvested canes at Albion from the commencement of the crop to date, 960 tonnes of additional sugar would have been made, which would have yielded $125M in revenue. In spite of the current wet condition the cane quality remains very good.
The Corporation urges the workers to allow good sense to prevail for the restoration of normalcy and the accommodation of Skeldon harvesters at Albion.
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