Bauxite workers affected by ongoing disputes between the BCGI and the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) hope that the favourable ruling on the issue of union recognition would pave the way for the quick resolution of all outstanding issues between the two parties.
“We can make some progress now,” Wayne Coppin said. Coppin, who was one of the 57 employees dismissed in November 2009, said he felt “great” hearing that the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board (TUR&CB) ruled that the GB&GWU was the recognised bargaining unit for the workers. “It gives us hope that things are going in our behalf. We felt we were on our own,” he said.
The TUR&CB last month rejected an application by some employees of the RUSAL subsidiary Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI) to have the GB&GWU derecognised as the workers’ bargaining unit. The ruling was made more than a year after a group of employees approached the board on the matter. It was determined, however, that the number of workers who made the request did not represent 40% of the bargaining unit as is legally required. Union representatives have accused the BCGI of coercing workers into applying for derecognition.
Coppin said that the ruling gives further credence to the union’s position that the 57 workers who were let go by the company had been “wrongfully dismissed.” The company, Coppin alleged, was simply trying to get to the stronghold of the unionised workers.
Coppin, who is still unemployed almost 16 months after being dismissed, said that it has been challenging during this period. “Up to now, I still trying to get a job. I on a push and pull system. I might get a one-day, two-day somewhere but nothing to hold onto,” he said. He alleged that the BCGI had done a lot to discredit his image since wherever he has applied he has been turned down. According to him, some companies which have told him that they had no vacancies have subsequently proceeded to hire other persons. He said this was the experience of other dismissed workers as well.
The dismissed workers, Coppin said, must be paid their full benefits and should even be given the option to resume work with the BCGI. “We need it [the impasse] to be resolved and we must have it resolved according to the labour laws of the land,” he said.
Another of the dismissed employees, Karen Mc Donald said she smiled when she heard of the TUR&CB’s ruling but opined that there is still a long way to go. She said that the company must respect the ruling of the Board and work towards solving the matter. Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir, she said, should fulfil his promise to have both parties meet with the intention of solving the dispute as quickly as possible.
She said even if the company wants to argue that the union agreed to workers being retrenched, these employees should be given their benefits. “I would like them to pay me my benefits and that’s it,” McDonald stated.
President of the GB&GWU Leslie Gonsalves said that the ball is now in the hands of the Minister of Labour. He hopes that Minister Nadir “will take it from there and have the parties meet and regularise the issues.” He added, “We as a union in ourselves can’t do a lot. We would need the help of the ministry.”
Gonsalves told this newspaper that there are several unresolved issues between the company and the union. Among the issues unresolved was one where 67 workers were suspended for five days and not paid after striking early in 2009 over unsafe working conditions. Other issues include the 57 employees dismissed in November after they went on strike, the wage negotiations which were not concluded in 2009 and the five employees who were dismissed last November after complaining about the state of the kitchen and the quality of meals being prepared at the Aroaima worksite.
Marcel O’Donoghue, one of the five employees dismissed over the fallout with the kitchen, told Stabroek News that since the matter of recognition has been pronounced on, the government should now intervene and impose compulsory arbitration. He said given past experiences with the company, it is highly unlikely that the company will speak with the union. “If you leave it to the ownership of the company and the union to discuss, they won’t be a resolution. The company won’t turn up for meetings…,” he said.
O’Donoghue, who is still to find a find a full-time job since being dismissed, said that if the evidence is to be considered by the Ministry of Labour, the officials would have no choice but to rule in the favour of the employees.
Nadir told this newspaper on Tuesday that the ministry wants the parties to meet and settle their own differences. “Our preference is for the parties to meet at the table and iron out their differences,” he explained. He said that the meetings between the two entities are expected to resume soon when the general manager of the BCGI returns.
The minister said that all available options will be considered. “Everything that was put on the table is on the table on both sides,” Nadir said.
Officials of the BCGI have remained tight-lipped on this issue ever since it became public several months ago.
