-workers pressing for $145m in retroactive payments
A proposed relocation of the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) head office to Berbice has not been officially communicated to employees, a senior staff member has said, as 258 non-unionised senior employees continue to press management for approximately $145 million in outstanding retroactive salary payments.
Speaking to Kiskadee Watch yesterday, the source said management had engaged head office employees to gather information about their family arrangements, personal circumstances and other obligations as it explores the feasibility of relocating the office.
“Nothing, nobody has been officially informed that the head office is being relocated,” the source said, adding that employees had not yet been formally notified of any decision to move.
The source said the corporation’s employment and labour obligations would have to be considered if a relocation proceeds, particularly if employees are required to work at a location more than 10 miles from their current workplace.
The source, who said they were also affected by the proposed move, said they were not involved in the assessment of employees’ circumstances and could not comment on the findings of the ongoing engagements.
However, the senior staff member said that while moving the head office closer to the corporation’s sugar-producing operations in Berbice could have strategic advantages, they saw no financial benefit to the move.
“Strategic-wise, it might be a good idea,” the source said, noting that approximately 75 per cent of GuySuCo’s operations are in Berbice, while the remaining 25 per cent are in Demerara.
The source added that some head office functions would still need to remain in Demerara because of the corporation’s international operations and its dealings with port authorities.
The employee stressed, however, that the relocation remained an exploratory exercise and was not yet a confirmed move.
Further, the source said the more pressing issue for the affected senior employees was the withholding of retroactive salary payments covering January to August 2025, as well as the removal of a salary increase from their pay beginning in January 2026.
In two letters dated August 20 and September 8, 2026, the 258 non-unionised senior employees appealed to GuySuCo Chief Executive Officer Dr Paul Cheong to address unequal treatment in the payment of salary adjustments.
The employees said they were excluded from the 2025 de-bunching retroactive payment, despite unionised employees receiving payments covering the same period.
According to their correspondence, the outstanding payments for the 258 employees amount to approximately $145 million, while retroactive payments to unionised workers totalled about $900 million.
The affected employees said they represent approximately 3.1 per cent of GuySuCo’s 8,300-strong workforce and that settling their claims would account for 13.8 per cent of the overall retroactive payment.
The source told Kiskadee Watch that the salary adjustment had been implemented in September 2025, with the affected employees receiving the increased salaries from September to December that year. However, the retroactive payments covering January to August 2025 were never received, while the salary increase was removed from their pay beginning in January 2026. “There is some payment that GuySuCo is contractually obligated to pay senior staff, increase in salary. That was unilaterally removed from us from January 2026,” the source said.
The employees argued in their August letter that correspondence issued to them in September 2025 outlined their new salaries for 2025 and 2026, including the retroactive payment. They said the subsequent decision to exclude them from the payment contradicted those arrangements and created an unjustifiable disparity between non-unionised senior employees and unionised workers.
The source also questioned why some senior employees, including field superintendents represented by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), received the retroactive payments while other senior staff were excluded.
The employees contend that the disparity amounts to a breach of their employment arrangements and called on management to reconsider its position.
In their September 8 letter, the employees asked GuySuCo to confirm that the outstanding payments would be included in their September 2026 salaries.
The source said the corporation had not responded to their concerns or made the payments by the time of the interview.
The correspondence was copied to GuySuCo’s board chairman, Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, Labour Minister Keoma Griffith and the Chief Labour Officer at the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning.
The employees had previously requested a favourable response within three days of their August 20 letter, warning that they could pursue further formal action to protect their contractual rights if the matter remained unresolved.
The source said the senior employees were now prepared to pursue the matter through legal channels. “We, the non-unionised senior staff, we are going to pursue this matter through a legal channel.”
The employee also expressed concern that the Labour Ministry had not addressed the matter, despite the correspondence being copied to the Chief Labour Officer.
The source described the situation as discriminatory and said the employees believed their contractual rights had been breached.
The source further argued that GuySuCo’s difficulties extended beyond the salary dispute, contending that the corporation’s management and the way its operations are handled were contributing to its challenges.
The employee maintained that the corporation’s sugar industry had potential but said its challenges were not unique, pointing to difficulties faced by sugar-producing countries internationally.
Discussion