This country’s sugar industry is officially privatized from today and the more than one hundred workers severed from Portvale Factory yesterday say they now have to wait to see if any of them will be rehired.

They also complain that it seems most of them will have to wait until next month to get promised vacation and pay in lieu of notice money along with severance.

Yesterday was the last day of operations for the state-owned Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC).

The agricultural business formerly conducted by the BAMC is now being operated by the Agricultural Business Company Limited.

The manufacture of sugar, its by-products, the sale of sugar, and the Portvale Factory operations formerly conducted by the BAMC are now being operated by the Barbados Energy and Sugar Company.

The former workers of the BAMC collected their severance papers yesterday.

But one of the workers told Starcom Network News today that while they expected to have money deposited into their bank accounts yesterday, for most of them that did not happen.

Today what they have are the letters stating what they are entitled to but no cash yet.

But what was made clear is that there stint as government employed sugar factory workers is over.

But he says the workers are keen to get the promised money.

A former worker of the Portvale Sugar Factory.