Almost 50 workers of the Bauxite Company of Guyana (BCG), a subsidiary of Russian bauxite giant United Company (UC) RUSAL at Aroaima, have been on strike since Saturday morning following the hospitalization of a colleague.
The Guyana Bauxite and General Workers’ Union (GBGWU) has assigned a representative to the striking BCG group. However, efforts to negotiate for “a healthy and safe work environment” have been unsuccessful. Efforts by Stabroek News to contact BCG officials for comment yesterday failed. The company is usually unavailable to the press.
A heavy-duty machinery operator, who transported bauxite from the mines using a truck, was rushed for medical attention at approximately 1.30 am last Tuesday. Workers are blaming the man’s “sudden bad health” on the fact that the air conditioning (AC) units of BCG’s trucks are not functioning.
The trucks’ ACs, workers explained, are among the most vital safety mechanisms for operators; especially those working the night/early morning shift. It counters the high temperature in the vehicle’s heated cabin and keeps the “harmful dust and other particles” out. However, the trucks’ AC units have not been functioning for months, workers said, leaving operators to brave the dust and heat. This is what sparked the strike.
BCG, located along the Aroaima River, Berbice, has not been providing a “safe and healthy” working environment, workers alleged. Between 45 and 50 heavy-duty machinery operators and other technical staff have refused to work until their demands are met. They have also accused the UC RUSAL subsidiary of being “unfair” and “uncaring” when it comes to the safety of employees.
“This company just doesn’t care,” one worker who requested anonymity said. “It doesn’t matter what sort of adverse conditions we face…all that matters to RUSAL is that we produce.”
The GBGWU representative and a group of workers, the employee explained, met with AMC’s management during last week but they refused to listen. All the employees basically want are “ACs that work and more frequently maintained machinery”. Workers insist that their demands are “reasonable” and should be taken seriously by the company.
“I don’t know what to say anymore,” the employee stated in a voice flooded with frustration. “…all we want are the air conditioners in the trucks to be fixed and we want them to maintain the machinery we use on a regular basis so that we are safe at work.”
Helmets, safety boots, uniform and luminous vests are the only safety gear provided by the company, workers said. According to them, the company does not provide face masks to aid with breathing at the dusty location.
Workers further highlighted an incident which occurred earlier this year, which according to them, “shows just how unfair RUSAL can be to employees”. They alleged that a crane operator was dismissed because of an industrial accident which resulted in another employee sustaining minor injuries to the shoulder. They described the dismissal of the crane operator as “unjust” since, according to them, it was “the fault of a flaw in the crane’s wire rope”.
“The crane’s wire rope just broke all of a sudden while the operator was working,” the anonymous employee recalled. “It’s a good thing nothing was attached to it at the time…the ball thing at the end fell and it nipped the shoulder of another employee and they fired the crane operator without even an investigation being done.”
The UC RUSAL subsidiary is obligated by the laws of Guyana to provide safe and healthy working environment for its workers and to ensure that machinery operated by them are safe and without risk to their health. The Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 99:10 Subsection 46 2(o) and 2(p) of the Laws of Guyana, states that the employer shall – “(o) provide and maintain a safe, sound, healthy and secure working environment as far as is reasonably practicable; (p) ensure that the work-place, machinery, equipment and processes under his control are safe and without risk to safety and healthy as is reasonably practicable”.
“We are not giving up,” the employee said. “We are prepared to fight for as long as it takes to get what we want.”
Efforts made to contact BCG’s manager Sergey Kostyuk about issue were futile. Stabroek News was also unable to reach the GBGWU representative.
Meanwhile, workers have expressed concern about “unofficial reports” reaching them about the possible closure of BCG before year end.
A Jamaican Gleaner article which was published in the April 6, 2009 edition of the Stabroek News under the headline ‘RUSAL’s health worries Jamaica’ had stated “Aluminum producing giant UC RUSAL, which is based in Russia, may widen output cuts to up to 20 per cent – 11 per cent more than it originally announced – as it takes steps to reduce costs and save the beleaguered company from bankruptcy”.
During the first half of last December UC RUSAL had cut around fifty local jobs in Guyana as they grappled with increasing costs and slumping demand for aluminum in the deteriorating global economic environment.
The following description is posted on UC RUSAL’s website (www.rusal.ru): “United Company RUSAL is represented in Guyana by its subsidiary Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc., which was established in December 2004 within the agreement on bauxite mine development, signed by UC RUSAL and the Government of Guyana. On March 31st 2006, UC RUSAL acquired the assets of the Aroaima Mining Company (AMC) and obtained the financial and production activities of the Guyanese company under its regulation, as well as most of its property, infrastructure and deposits with aggregate reserves of 96 mln tonnes of bauxite.”