Sugar production affected by strike actions

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) says its First Crop for 2017 encountered many challenges ranging from adverse weather; strike actions by workers, dismal attendance, among others. Therefore, after more than ten weeks of grinding, sugar production is slightly over 48,000 tonnes.

Five estates were grinding for the First Crop – Albion, Rose Hall, Blairmont, East Demerara and Uitvlugt. The Skeldon Estate was out of operation for this crop due to the co-generation plant being deemed as unsafe, based on advice from Skeldon Energy Inc. (SEI).

However, while on the one hand production is an important aspect of the management’s focus for 2017, the foremost objective is to clearly lay out the way forward for the Corporation and ensuring that the transitioning strategies cover the widest range of solutions, and that the implementation process is as smooth as possible under the circumstances.

Employees across the Corporation are encouraged to support each other and their estates in achieving targets set for the year.

There is widespread protests and strike actions across the industry following the Government’s announcement to only retain the Uitvlugt, Blairmont and Albion Estates by the end of 2018 and also to scale down production.