| – company puts forward new proposalThe staff members of the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) who began protest action during the latter part of last week outside their East Bank Demerara offices,John Carlson Capitals Jersey, have resumed work.The resumption came after DDL and the three unions representing workers, met yesterday and finally arrived at a settlement concerning the workers’ increased wages.According to the General Secretary of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Seepaul Narine, the management committee of DDL, in a meeting with GAWU,Shannon Sharpe Denver Broncos Throwback Jersey, the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) and the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCW), put forward a new proposal,Justin Verlander Tigers Jersey, which was ‘much better’ than its previous proposal and which addressed the questions of red-circling workers.Narine told Kaieteur News that though the unions are currently studying DDL’s recent proposal and are ‘still discussing it’,Budda Baker Jersey, they are much closer to an agreement with the company and while DDL had promised to pay its workers before Christmas, the unions are “going to do better than that”.Field Secretary for the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Mandat Singh, explained that “everything is fine. There is normalcy” and “the workers agreed to what was proposed.”In a press release sent to Kaieteur News last evening, DDL’s public relations officer, Alex Graham, stated that DDL and the three unions representing workers,Paul George Team USA Jersey, yesterday morning, reached an agreement on “all outstanding issues related to workers’ compensation packages”.Graham added that the agreement which covers a five year period, inclusive of 2010, is to be formally signed later this week.Last Thursday and Friday, workers from the Distillery, Liquor Sales and Shipping Departments and the Beverages, Old Bottling and New Bottling Plants participated in a “protest” because they were not happy with the previous proposal that DDL had put forward which resulted in 128 staff not getting any increases for the next five years.With the implementation of this proposal and the number being increased every year as more staff reached the “new maxima” that was decided by the management committee of DDL.In response to the “protest” the company had claimed to have invited the unions to work on the implementation of the agreement in order that there would be equitable remuneration for all workers going forward.DDL, at that point, had said that it was pressing the unions for an early conclusion of these negotiations for the past six months and “despite the union’s failure to date to provide any counter proposals for the rationalisation process,LaDarius Gunter Packers Jersey, DDL remains committed to ensuring that all of our employees are paid their current salary adjustments and performance-based increase before Christmas and prefers for this to be done through a satisfactory resolution with the union.” |
