25 MAY 2011www.stabroeknews.com
Bauxite workers and sugar workers being treated equitably
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
Ms Lurlene Nestor, in a letter published in the May 20 edition of Kaieteur News (KN), asks, ‘What about the bauxite workers, Mr President?’ Let Prime Minister put straight the facts! This PPP/C Government has been treating bauxite workers and sugar workers equitably!
Yes, the government recently assisted GuySuCo in providing $300 million to pay severance benefits to sugar workers of Diamond Estate. And you know what, this same government, in the decade from about 1994, provided much larger sums to bauxite workers in meeting commitments to workers, commitments that had not been met since the 1980s, during the era of the preceding PNC government! This government’s assistance, in payments to bauxite workers, totalled:
Bauxite Workers’ Savings Scheme : 32,031,254.
Un-met Submission of Workers’ PAYE/NIS : 434,463,296.
Un-met Obligation to Bauxite Pension Scheme: 98,000,000.
Retrenchment/Severance Pay : 1,625,726,954.
Total (over 1994 to 2005) 2,190,221,504
About 4,000 bauxite workers who, as mentioned in Ms Nestor’s letter, were mostly Afro-Guyanese and who, in times past, would have mostly supported the PNC, benefited from that assistance. These facts did not matter to the PPP/C then, when we supported the bauxite workers, and they do not matter now – it never will, for we, the PPP/C, see Guyanese all! Prime Minister is one who benefited from some of that assistance, as an old bauxite worker. He did support the assistance to the bauxite companies and bauxite workers! He hopes that he would not be taken to task for a conflict of interest!
Yes, the government recently assisted GuySuCo in providing $300 million to pay severance benefits to sugar workers of Diamond Estate. And you know what, this same government, in the decade from about 1994, provided much larger sums to bauxite workers in meeting commitments to workers, commitments that had not been met since the 1980s, during the era of the preceding PNC government! This government’s assistance, in payments to bauxite workers, totalled:
Bauxite Workers’ Savings Scheme : 32,031,254.
Un-met Submission of Workers’ PAYE/NIS : 434,463,296.
Un-met Obligation to Bauxite Pension Scheme: 98,000,000.
Retrenchment/Severance Pay : 1,625,726,954.
Total (over 1994 to 2005) 2,190,221,504
About 4,000 bauxite workers who, as mentioned in Ms Nestor’s letter, were mostly Afro-Guyanese and who, in times past, would have mostly supported the PNC, benefited from that assistance. These facts did not matter to the PPP/C then, when we supported the bauxite workers, and they do not matter now – it never will, for we, the PPP/C, see Guyanese all! Prime Minister is one who benefited from some of that assistance, as an old bauxite worker. He did support the assistance to the bauxite companies and bauxite workers! He hopes that he would not be taken to task for a conflict of interest!
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