– as workers contemplate five and half days pay offerSugar workers are contemplating a five-and-half-day production bonus pay as negotiating teams put arbitration proceedings on hold.A senior official on the negotiating team involving the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), said that the corporation upped its offer to that amount as against the eight days being demanded by the union.GuySuCo met with GAWU on Friday,Cheap Jerseys From China, the official disclosed,Wholesale NBA Jerseys Authentic, and raised its offer of three and half days pay for the Annual Production Incentive (API) to five and a half days.“We have taken the offer to the sugar workers and they are thinking about it. We should hear about what they think before the week is out. GuySuCo has asked us to defer the arbitration proceedings for a while and we have agreed,” the official who asked not to be named said.Last week,Cheap NFL Jerseys, tensions rose in the sugar industry over failed negotiations of the year-end bonus, and the workers’ union says that it has since signaled its intentions to go to arbitration.GAWU, on Wednesday, wrote the GuySuCo requesting arbitration on the payment of the bonus.In a letter addressed to Francis Carryl, Head of Industrial Relations, GuySuCo, GAWU also asked for a meeting to discuss the terms of reference and composition of the Arbitration Panel.The letter has been copied to the Chief Labour Officer, Yoganand Persaud.On Wednesday, GuySuCo threatened to sanction several workers of the Wales and Albion estates who went on strike to protest the poor condition of an access road at Albion and the payment of the API which was under negotiation.According to the corporation, 24 mechanical tillage workers at the Wales location staged a picketing exercise which eventually turned into strike action. At Albion,Cheap NFL Jerseys, 163 workers had also taken industrial action.GuySuCo,NFL Jerseys Outlet, in a strongly worded letter on Wednesday to Seepaul Narine, General Secretary of GAWU, expressed its serious dissatisfaction “over the indiscipline and counterproductive behaviour of some members of your union’s bargaining unit.”API talks had stalled last week and a meeting earlier in the week with the negotiating teams from the union and the Corporation had seen workers being told of GuySuCo’s current offer of four days’ pay.Narine, in response to GuySuCo’s letter of possible sanctions against workers, said that the correspondence has clearly indicated the “dictatorial” attitude of the Corporation and its management.The union official denied that Wales workers were on strike, since there is no production ongoing at this time at the estate.“GuySuCo is saying that workers protesting the conditions of the access road have nothing to do with them. There were many examples in the past when workers protested for different things. These included issues of the Guyana National Service and calling for free and fair elections.”Narine said he was unsure, with no production ongoing, how GuySuCo would be able to justify any arguments that strikes at this time would cause targets to fall.The official explained that GuySuCo made an offer of four days’ pay for the API then reduced this to three and a half days’ pay.“Clearly this is an act of provocation to get workers to strike. From 1992 to 2008, workers were getting API of an average of 17 days pay. We were proposing eight days taking into consideration GuySuCo is saying they are at the crossroads.”Last year,Cheap Jerseys From China, GuySuCo struggled as it battled strike actions and low production.A pay increase for workers was sent to arbitration and three per cent was awarded by a tribunal. The Corporation, in the midst of a crippling price cut from Europe, its biggest customer, was forced to borrow from a banking consortium, and reschedule some of its debts to meet the $300M-plus increase for workers.With a crop looming, officials last year said that it could ill-afford strike action this year as the Corporation attempts to implement a turnaround plan to rescue an industry facing severe challenges.