Days after the Guyana Sugar Corporation announced that sugar workers will receive a bonus as sugar production is set to surpass it’s target, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union has indicated that it is still pressing the company for a retroactive salary increase.

The union wants a 15% salary increase for workers that it would like to see be made retroactive to January of this year.

In its statement, GAWU said sugar workers who are still employed by the industry are the only workers in the state sector to have not gotten any pay increase since the Coalition took office three and half years ago.

The union said it has already concluded discussions on the non-wage benefits with the sugar company and those engagements resulted in a few improvements being secured.

“Our discussions, this year, the GAWU noted have been conducted in a more amicable environment. Whether the improvement could be attributed to the change in the Corporation’s leadership, or other factors, we are not sure, but, nevertheless, we are pleased with the new attitude of the GuySuCo”, the union said. 

 GAWU is hoping that current and future discussions can be conducted in a similar or improved atmosphere as this augurs well for the GAWU/GuySuCo relations.

The Union has pointed out that its 42-year relationship with GuySuCo had reached its lowest point in recent years.

GAWU has now put forward a counter-proposal regarding the ‘bonus’.

The union, while not providing details on that counter proposal, said the Corporation has given a commitment to examine its suggestion soon.

The Union today said the bonus cannot be a substitute for a pay rise which has been denied for far too long.

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