Strike in the sugar industry during the 2011 harvest season is possible

According to the members of the Joint Negotiating Panel (JNP), there are three options should the Mauritius Sugar Producers’ Association (MSPA) not abide by the recommendations of the National Remuneration Board (NRB).

The JNP is a trade union platform grouping the Union of Artisans of the Sugar Industry (UASI), the Sugar Industry Labourers Union (SILU), the Artisans and General Workers Union (AGWU) and the Organisation of Artisans Unity (OAU), amongst others.

These different unions bring together around 4,000 artisans and labourers. Ashok Subron, another trade unionist, stated that if the sugar estate owners continue to doubt the work of the NRB, there could be a general strike in the sugar industry during the 2011 harvest season.

If there is a strike during the harvest period, things will worsen as there will be around 50,000 tonnes less this year, mainly due to the bad weather. Instead of some 450,000 tonnes of sugar for the harvest period 2011-12, the industry stakeholders underlined that the drought has affected sugarcane yield. Sugar production is expected to reach around 400,000 to 410,000 tonnes this year.