More than 2,000 sugar workers are to gain from a new agreement for improvements in their wages and fringe benefits to be introduced by August 15.

The agreement is for the same level of increases granted to government workers last year — four per cent in year one, which commenced in January this year, and three per cent for year two, which starts at the same time next year.

The new rates will be retroactive to January 1, or the beginning of the 2015/16 crop at the estate/factory, whichever is earlier. They will be implemented by September 1 and will last for a total of 24 months.

Other improvements include increases in clothing allowance; out-of-base and overtime meal allowances; and shift premium.

The workers will also benefit from increased coverage for group life insurance, up from $200,000 to $250,000, as of August 1 this year; and increased personal accident insurance with coverage moving from $400,000 to $500,000, also effective August 1.

The workers are represented by the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, National Workers’ Union, and the University and Allied Workers’ Union.

However, despite the improved package, the industry continues to suffer from a number of challenges, which have placed its survival in doubt and raised serious problems for the new Government.

New Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Karl Samuda stated during the recent sectoral debate in the House of Representatives that the first challenge the new Administration faced was the widespread problems in the sugar industry.

He said that these problems were precipitated by low export prices in the European Union and two years of drought, and were manifested in a number of the private players facing financial challenges which threatened the closure of their factories.

According to Samuda, the current problems are merely the manifestation of deep-seated structural problems that the industry has failed to address for decades.

He said that the structural problems relate to the failure to fully exploit the versatility of sugar cane to produce multiple products, as well as to diversify the markets and invest sufficiently in field operations to attain levels of productivity and efficiency that would make the industry competitive.

“It is as simple as that. Divestment was necessary, but certainly not sufficient,” he told the House.

He said that, while many in the society have written off the sugar industry, its impact and contribution to the economy cannot be ignored, and very few proposals have emerged as to what could replace sugar.

He said that, on assuming office, the Government was faced with the issue of some 70,000 tonnes of cane produced by independent farmers and valued at $245 million.

The new Administration was forced to divert $180 million, which had been allocated by its predecessor to cover the transportation of the cane, to repair the Long Pond sugar factory in order for it to operate within the current sugar crop and rescue 230 cane farmers and 130 jobs.

He said that the Government is convinced that the industry will have to abandon the practice of sending bulk sugar to Europe to be refined, in addition to ignoring a “captive” market for over 300,000 tonnes of sugar in Caricom.

He said that there was also an E-10 mandate, and the existence of distilleries close to the sugar factories makes the manufacturing of ethanol feasible, while the use of bagasse in cogeneration will have to be encouraged.

“In this regard, I have signalled to Caricom, through the last Council for Trade and Economic Development meeting in April, that Jamaica is coming for the Caricom market in relation to packaged sugar, refined sugar and plantation white and liquid sugar,” Samuda said.