By Cathy Richards
Workers who were fired from the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI) are calling on the company to pay them their retrenchment packages since they have no interest in returning to work with the company.
Fifty workers from the Aroaima-based bauxite company, BCGI, were fired following an impasse between the workers’ union, the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers’ Union (GB&GWU) and the company while the union was negotiating for improved wages for its members. This situation resulted in unionized workers taking industrial action, bringing the operations at the company to a complete standstill for a number of days.
As days went by, efforts at negotiation yielded no fruit and workers refused to return to work, resulting in the company suspending the services of some of the workers claiming that they had ceased work without permission.
This had put another issue on the agenda for negotiations but at this point the Russian-owned company refused to continue discussions with the union, saying that they were not recognizing the union because of an alleged breach of their recognition agreement.
The company then said that it had suffered great losses and could no longer carry the full workforce. Although most workers were still on strike, fifty of them were served letters indicating that the company no longer required their services. Company officials could not be reached on the question of the retrenchment packages.
Speaking with Stabroek News some of the fired employees had said they were told that they were accused of damaging the company’s property and were the key players in instigating the protest action.
This newspaper spoke with some of those who were fired and most of them said that they were not interested in returning to work with the company but needed their retrenchment packages which they note they are legally entitled to.
“I worked honestly with the company since they took over and now that they don’t want me anymore by right they have to pay me my dues,” Wayne Coppin stated, adding that they were made to withdraw from the insurance agreement and were refunded their contributions.
“Life is very hard for me at this time, really hard and I didn’t deserve to be fired for something I don’t know of, all we were doing was standing up for our rights,” said Richie James. The father of seven children said that he has not been fortunate to secure a job despite desperate efforts. He said that there were some workers who didn’t mind being laid off because they were assured of another job but he was willing to continue working with the company.
He said that they have been in constant contact with the union representative who had been briefing them on the situation. They were told that the issue of retrenchment packages could not have been dealt with in isolation from the other issues that were pending with the company.
“This is not the government I helped put in power. I voted for a government which I had the confidence would have stood up for the people of this country. I feel let down to know the government is more on the side of the Russians and not their own people,” exclaimed one of the former employees.
The workers said that it was a sad state of affairs to learn that senior members of the government reportedly believed the company’s claims that they had damaged their property and had coerced other workers into taking industrial action.
God could take me…
“I am going through a really hard time, me being out of work is causing so much pain and suffering for my family at times I does just wish God could take me how things rough,” said another man who has a family of six.
The man explained that he has been doing odd jobs although he is a professional heavy duty vehicle operator. He said that if the matter has to reach the level of the court of justice he is willing to stand 100% behind the GB&GWU since it is clear that BCGI is in violation of many clauses of the labour laws of Guyana.
On the other hand family members of some persons who managed to secure other jobs are finding it very challenging to keep the families together. According to most of the wives, while their husbands were working with BCGI maintaining contact with their families was much more structured. “Despite they use to be in there (Aroaima) we could have depended on hearing from our husbands almost every day. There were times that we even could have gone up there to visit and spend time,” one woman explained.
She said further that now the men are working in the interior there is not an assured salary, neither is there a fixed time that they can communicate or travel in or out to be with their families.
“All I am wishing for is for the company to pay those people and let it be done with once and for all,” she added.
The GB&GWU and BCGI have been at loggerheads for about 18 months, but the dispute intensified last November when the workers at the company engaged in strike action which was subsequently terminated. However, following the strike, more than 50 workers were dismissed. Since then, the union and prominent trade union leaders like Lincoln Lewis and Norris Witter have argued that Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir has failed to discharge his duties in protecting the rights of the dismissed workers and the union. The matter was the subject of a no-confidence motion on June 3rd brought by the PNCR-1G against Nadir in Parliament. The government used its parliamentary majority to defeat the motion.