SAWENI canefarmer Sundarjeet Singh had cut nearly seven tonnes of cane before the Fiji Clerks and Supervisors Association strike, which prevented a start to the Lautoka crush.
According to an article published by The Fiji Times on May 21, 1982, both Lautoka and Penang mills, which were due to start crushing, had to delay the start of their crushing season and Penang mill, which began on May 11, had ground to a costly halt.
It would have proven equally costly for the hundreds of farmers like Mr Singh whose cane lines were cut but remained in the field, threatened by low-hanging rain clouds.
“If it rains now, I will not be able to get the cane out of the field for one week,” he said.
“If cane is cut and kept longer than one week, it is not accepted by the mill.”
Mr Singh’s cane was cut and he was notified of the strike and its effect the following day.
“The field officer for the area had told him that until strikers resumed work, the cane was to be left in the field,” he said.
“The longer you leave the cane lying around, the more the sugar content decreases. The real loss is to the farmers but in the long run everyone suffers because we are the major income-earners.
“It’s a chain reaction and the strikers do not realise they will suffer also as a result.”
