By Melville Harris, Gleaner Writer 
St. Elizabeth:
INDUSTRIAL ACTION by over 100 canecutters at the Appleton Estate in St. Elizabeth has delayed the start of the 2004-2005 sugar crop.
The canecutters, who started their protest on Monday, are demanding premium rates for cutting canes that were damaged by the hurricanes that affected the island in the latter part of last year. They are contending that it is harder to cut canes in the hurricane affected fields.
"We want either Saturday rates, which is time and a half, or Sunday rates, which is double time to cut the damaged fields," said one of the protesting canecutters. "The rate being offered by management is unfair to us who have to struggle with falling canes in the bad field."
DISCUSS PAYMENT
Ian Maxwell, the chief
operations officer at the Appleton Estate, told The Gleaner that while the company is willing to discuss the payment for the cutting of the fields that were damaged by the hurricanes, it is not willing to apply such payment across the board.
"If the matter of payment is not resolved quickly, the Appleton estate stands to lose $5 million," said Mr. Maxwell. "At present, cane from the New Yarmouth Sugar Factory in Clarendon, which are normally transferred to Appleton for processing, are now being sent to the Frome Estate, in Westmoreland."
Several cane farmers indicated that whatever agreement is reached between the management of Appleton and the cane-cutters will have an impact on their operation as canecutters will be demanding more to reap the canes that were damaged.
In the meantime, the St. Elizabeth police have been monitoring the situation at the Appleton factory.
