Dear Editor,
The more Sasenarine Singh writes on the bauxite issue the clearer becomes his dishonourable intent on the current impasse between the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU) and the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI). In his letter to SN of March 31, entitled , ‘When was the last time GB&GWU’s accounts were audited,’ he seems desirous of intensifying a matter that has no relation to the impasse or the business of anyone outside of the GB&GWU membership. On March 25 in his letter, ‘The budget failed to flesh out the real issues in bauxite and abandoned the workers to their own fates,’ he wrote on the economics of the bauxite industry. Lincoln Lewis in his response on March 28, captioned, ‘As custodians of the law President Jagdeo and Minister Nadir are duty-bound to protect the rights of BCGI workers,’ brought to his attention that rights and the rule of law take precedence over economics.  To this response Mr Singh blogged saying, “Further, Mr. Lewis has been very cunning in avoiding the vital governance issue of the Bauxite Union not having its accounts audited in 2008.”  His is a dishonest statement and attack given the fact that Mr Lewis’s response to his initial letter did not address the issue he accuses him of avoiding.

In his blog on my letter, ‘These workers had never previously raised concerns about GB&GWU’s internal matters,’ on March 28 at 10.29 am he stated that I worked at BCGI, was made redundant, received severance pay and I must go.  At 1.06 pm a blogger corrected him. In as much as he was corrected on the 28th and on the 29th at 2.13am and 2.16 am, he repeated the inaccuracies.

This repetition caused me to write to clear the air on my employment.

The issue before the nation is the violations of workers’ rights and the upholding of the rights of every worker. Mr Singh has not demonstrated that he has the interest of bauxite workers at heart, neither is he prepared to accept any iota of evidence presented by the union, since he clearly stated in his blog of March 28 at 11 am that, “Further, Mr. Akeel, one of the most respected HR practioner[s] in Guyana has made it clear that no labour laws were broken at RUSAL in Guyana.” This statement was made on a Lincoln Lewis letter dated March 28 that named the laws being broken by the company and government. Rather than checking to verify, Mr Singh pronounces definitively which confirms that his analyses are not driven by evidence but by loyalty and emotions. GB&GWU is not going to be caught in this wicked game. The matter before us is much too serious for such foolishness.

The union has provided the laws, conventions and articles of the Collective Labour Agreement in the media to support its position in this impasse and remains prepared to have discussions on these at any time.

Every citizen has the right to question President Jagdeo and his government, since these public institutions are ours, funded by us, of which government is a mere custodian. The union has not and would not question the financial business of any religious organisation Mr Singh might belong to, because we are not members.

By extension, Mr Singh is not a member of the union and has no right to question our internal business.

Mr Singh’s role as a supporter of the lawlessness of the government and the discrimination meted out to the bauxite workers under the PPP administration is unfortunate, though recognizable given the fact that under this administration right and wrong is dependent on which part of the political fence you’re perceived to be on.

Yours faithfully,
Leslie Gonsalves
General Secretary (ag)
GB&GWU