Dear Editor,

I refer to a letter from Mr Leslie Gonsalves, General Secretary of the GB&GWU in the March 30 edition of SN captioned `The GB&GWU is going to push back with every fibre in our being’.  He wants to set the record straight, so let us set the records straight with his answer to some of my questions? I want to publicly acknowledge that my usually reliable source was wrong on this occasion and that Mr Gonsalves was not one of the “58 staff that was let go”.  However, what has not been contested is the crux of my concern with the GB&GWU – when was the last year that they audited their accounts.  I remain convinced you cannot competently represent the bauxite workers if your own house is out of order. Mr. Gonsalves has been economical with the fact on the wider issues and thus to stimulate this discourse I ask him publicly the following questions to set the records straight;

1. When was the last audited accounts for the B&GWU done and for what year?

2. What is the GB&GWU’s position if RUSAL finds an alternative source of bauxite for their smelters resulting in the closure of the Berbice operations since we are only 2% of their business?

3. Can he please list the human rights violations that occurred at wakwani/BCGI?

4. Can he list the labour laws that were violated over the last 12 months by RUSAL?

5. Why did the bauxite workers at Kwakwani allow full access to NAACIE to discuss an alternative Union as their representative?

All is not well at the GB&GWU but if they are to regain the lost ground, they must first of all complete the auditing of all their accounts pronto.  The GB&GWU comes from a strong history of struggle and I know this struggle is not beyond them but the bottom line is; this struggle must be for the workers, not the Union leader.

The answers to these questions will reveal who is speaking the truth and who is economical with the truth.  I am never afraid to stand up to anyone and no less a person than President Jagdeo has been a beneficiary of my analysis.  My analysis is pointing in a direction where  we have some union leaders who are more interested in preserving their position than looking after the workers.  As a word of caution, if Mr Gonsalves does not answer my questions, please do not expect me to continue this dialogue.

Yours faithfully,
Sasenarine Singh