– says bauxite workers approached NAACIE
General Secretary of NAACIE Kenneth Joseph has rejected recent assertions by officials of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) that his union is in collusion with the administration to destroy the GB&GWU.
The GB&GWU is the recognized union for bauxite workers employed at the local RUSAL subsidiary, the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. There has been an ongoing impasse between the union and the company, which resulted in attempts by the latter to have the union derecognized by the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board.
In a recent press statement, officials from the GB&GWU accused the National Association of Agricultural Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) of being involved in union busting. Accusing the administration of inaction in the impasse, the GB&GWU said that the bauxite company had taken advantage of this and had instructed workers to attend a meeting last Wednesday which was to be convened by NAACIE. The officials from the GB&GWU said that while the workers had resisted this and did not turn up for the meeting, the workers were subsequently told that their refusal to attend the meeting as well as to sign the form requesting NAACIE be their union will not prevent a takeover.
Contacted for comment, Joseph described the statements by the GB&GWU as “total trash” without any basis. He said workers of the bauxite company had invited him to a meeting concerning the possibility of NAACIE representing them but he did not attend. According to him, he advised them to meet the officials of the GB&GWU instead, to iron out the issues.
Joseph told this newspaper that some workers feel that because of the bad blood between the union and BCGI, the union may not be able to effectively represent the workers. Joseph also strongly denied that NAACIE has been deliberating with the government concerning this issue.
Joseph said that currently some workers of the bauxite company are in discussions with NAACIE officials about his union representing them. He said some of the workers engaging NAACIE are not unionized. “If it comes to the point where workers are serious in having NAACIE representing them, we wouldn’t run away from the challenge,” Joseph said. He emphasized that the process to derecognize the GB&GWU could only be done by the Trade Union Certification and Recognition Board. Likewise, for NAACIE to be the new union, a certain process would have to be followed, Joseph said.
Following a wage dispute in November, workers of the company engaged in industrial action. However, subsequently, several of the workers aborted the strike and resumed working with the company. Subsequently about 50 workers–including some senior members of the union—were dismissed by the BCGI.
Union leaders have since argued that the workers who went back to work were forced to sign letters to say that they wanted the GB&GWU to be derecognized. The union has since taken its concerns to the Trade Union Certification and Recognition Board, the Chief Labour Officer, and the Ethnic Relations Committee (ERC). Further, the union has since collaborated with several international bodies in putting together a “worldwide petition” to register its concerns with Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir.