The Barbados Agricultural Management Company and the Sugar Industry Staff Association have hailed as a milestone, a landmark collective bargaining agreement signed this morning to mark the Labour Day holiday.
The BAMC is the state agency that operates the lone sugar factory, Portvale, as well as about a third of the sugar cane farms.
Meantime, the Sugar Industry Staff Association represents middle management at Portvale and the government-run farms and some of the privately-owned plantations.
The agreement is the first in 12 years.
CEO of the BAMC Orlando Atherly addressing members of the news media just prior to the signing, noted that the agreement comes at a key time when the sugar industry is transitioning to a new structure.
President of SISA, Dwight Miller, sees the deal as a significant development in the relationship between the union and the BAMC.
