News
Wednesday, July 24, 2013THE Ministry of Labour and Social Security has set an emergency conciliation meeting for tomorrow at 10:00 am, in an effort to resolve an impasse between Pan Caribbean Sugar Company and the unions representing workers at the Monymusk, Bernard Lodge and Frome sugar factories.The workers have been demonstrating since Monday against the sending on leave of 132 security guards, and the contracting of a private security firm, Quest, by Pan- Caribbean/Complant, the Chinese firm which bought the three factories in 2011.The unions involved are the National Workers’ Union, the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the University and Allied Workers Union.Yesterday, the BITU’s deputy island supervisor in charge of the sugar sector, Harold Brown, told the Jamaica Observer that the workers are determined to show their objection to the sending off of the workers, following the redundancy of some 200 workers since last year.He said that 90 workers were made redundant recently, including 30 security guards, and on Monday another 132 security guards were sent on “discretionary leave”, which the management says is part of the restructuring of the operations.He said that the trade unions met with the management of Pan Caribbean on Monday and insisted that the company reinstate the workers. However, the talks broke down after the management turned down their request. He explained that after the talks broke down, the protest spread from Bernard Lodge, St Catherine, to Monymusk, Clarendon, and Frome, Westmoreland, yesterday.COMPLANT International took control of the three former government-owned sugar factories in August 2011, after investing more than US$8 million ($680 million) in the production of sugar cane since the start of the year.The three sugar factories and the lands immediately surrounding them were sold to COMPLANT for US$9 million or more than $700 million in July last year. Under the deal, the company also secured some 30,000 hectares of cane lands through a 49-year lease agreement, which is renewable for another 25 years.
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Labour Ministry intervenes in sugar workers impasse
