PPP supports Govt to fund severance for sugar workers

– $3BILLION supplementary funding approved, $2.5B for severance payments  

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, October 31, 2018

On a call by the Government Benches for a vote, the National Assembly approved supplementary funding to the tune of over $3Billion of which the sum of $2.5Billion will be used to complete the remaining severance payments to sugar workers.

This move is in keeping with government’s commitment to ensuring the sugar workers are paid the remaining severance in the second half of the year.

Earlier in the year, the first tranche of severance was paid, with government promising to complete payment on or before the end of the year.

President David Granger, on October 14, during a meeting at Rose Hall Primary School had noted:

“At the beginning of the year, we said that severance would be paid in two parts. One in the first half of the year and the second part in the second half of the year. You received your first part and you will get your second part in the second half of the year. Sugar workers are going to get their severance and I say so. We are not going to deny sugar workers one dollar of their severance pay. We are also going to work with the unions to make sure that the workers who cannot find employment on the estates are given a soft landing, that is, we will try to provide employment opportunities so that nobody has to suffer.”

Payment by the government was assured as the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has been bankrupted under the previous administration, and saddled with an $85Billion debt.

Today, Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder assured that payments will be made soonest, now that the supplementary has been approved.

Since 2015, the Coalition Government gave the industry some $38Billion in bailout funds mostly to meet wages and debt repayments.

Stacy Carmichael.

Image by Keno George.