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Guyana seeks to end sugar worker protest
The government urged sugarcane workers to end a weeklong strike over the high cost of food and utilities on Friday, saying it could severely harm Guyana's sugar industry.
The strike has cost an estimated $1.1 million and could hamper efforts to meet international market demands during the current harvest season, said Nick Jackson, the head of state-owned Guyana Sugar Corp.
"The workers are protesting against something about which we can do nothing," he said.
Hundreds of workers at three estates in Guyana's southeastern region are protesting a jump in food prices and electricity rates, as well as water shortages. Police arrested several workers earlier this week on charges of disorderly conduct at street protests.
Production is already lagging because of an unusually long rainy season, Jackson said.
Sugar is Guyana's top export, and the industry is the country's largest employer with about 15,000 workers.