Unions, Guysuco to picket EU offices over planned sugar price cuts
Stabroek News
July 17, 2004
The two unions that represent sugar workers will join hands with Guysuco on Monday to protest the European Union's (EU) proposed slashing of sugar prices.
The picket will coincide with EU farm ministers holding their first discussions on the European Commission's sugar proposals at a meeting in Brussels, Belgium.
Stabroek News understands that the workers and management will picket the EU's Georgetown office urging a rethink of the proposals which Agriculture Commis-sioner, Franz Fischler says need to be implemented now. Fischler's proposal will see sugar prices dropping by 20% next year and down by 33% in 2007.
This could cost Guysuco US$200 per tonne of sugar, which on an export base of 167,000 tonnes would be equivalent to US$33M a year.
The decision to picket the EU's office was raised by a leader of one of the two unions, the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).
The proposal was accepted and Guysuco pledged its support.
The picketing exercise will be on a small scale. However, organisers will monitor developments in relation to the EU proposals and will take whatever action they deem necessary.
For now only workers from the East and West Demerara estates will participate.
Meanwhile, Guysuco's Marketing Director Nisa Surujbally said that Guyanese should not be overly pessimistic about the proposals, noting that they are not a done deal and are still subject to consultations.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Surujbally said Guysuco has taken note of the proposals which have been formalised and will be put to the European Commis-sion on Monday.
She said the feedback they have received from Europe is that there is no widespread support for the proposals, which she believes will not succeed.
The move comes after other reforms of the EU's 43 billion euro farm support programmes as the bloc has come under pressure in world trade talks.
Fischler was quoted as saying "We cannot afford to lose time... If we wait things will certainly not improve."
Surujbally said the ACP countries will continue to lobby the EU to alter the proposals which if adopted would render thousands jobless around the world. She said Guysuco has been working towards improving its competitiveness in the face of the global challenge, but is certainly not prepared for the reforms at the moment.
With regard to the planned protest, Surujbally said she was disappointed that the unions did not take action earlier, noting that other groups overseas picketed EU's offices and also issued press statements. The EU Council will begin its first round of debates on the proposals in November but informal consultations will commence in September.