-working hours cut
During this week 32 more employees from the Mines Operations Department at BOSAI will be retrenched, thus concluding the company’s retrenchment exercise which commenced on April 6.
Initially 104 employees were targeted but of this number 72 employees were retrenched since the exercise was delayed in the Mines Operations Department.
The company said that it did not “foresee any further retrenchment unless the situation deteriorates in the next several months.”
According to a joint statement yesterday, the management at BOSAI met last Friday with the sole bargaining unit for the employees, NAACIE (National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees).
And it was discussed that the reduced requirement from international markets for Bosai’s refractory bauxite product had resulted in lower demand for bauxite mining and processing in Guyana.
Therefore, in order to keep as many employees as possible on the job, both parties agreed following discussions to return to the original eight-hour work schedule rather than the 12-hour shift worked in some areas.
This arrangement the parties agreed will provide more employment for the Linden community, the joint statement said.
Meanwhile, having discussed the current status of the industry both parties agreed that this step was necessary and helpful for both the company and its employees given the current economic condition.
The parties said further that they were aware of “their social responsibility in Linden and will try their best to provide maximum employment at all times.”
Month-to-month
A retrenched mechanic at Mckenzie, complained that, “it was difficult” without his job but said he would, “have to deal with it.” This heavy duty mechanic was let go in the first wave of retrenchment in March from BOSAI, having only spent a few months on the job. But he is able to meet some of his needs because of a stall he operates in the Mckenzie Municipal market. He had worked with the company on a month-to-month contract.
One driver who was fired and asked not to be named has tried unsuccessfully to find a new job. “I tried several places,” he told Stabroek News, explaining that the proprietors were saying ‘there is no vacancy at the moment’ or ‘I will get back to you’ and some said until December or January 2010. “It tight,” emphasized the driver, speaking about his economic situation adding that he was “living off of savings.” The man admitted that the situation has him “worried all the time.” He revealed that he may have to resort to driving a minibus if he does not find any other job. Over the last two decades he has worked in the bauxite industry at Linden, but began working with BOSAI last year.
NAACIE General Secretary Kenneth Joseph last week said he will like to see the company concentrate more on stripping the sand and overburden on the land to get to the bauxite, rather than staff reductions and use the period of downturn to drain flooded old mines, so that the company can have optimum production when demand returns. There are some 500 workers still at the company.
