Dear Editor,
The struggles of bauxite workers since May 2009, have to be seen in the context of a policy carried out by the government on its ascension to office in the hope of bringing these workers to their knees and destroying their union, the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU). The recent formation of the Metal Workers Union in the hope of replacing the GB&GWU as the bargaining agent for workers employed at the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI) follows a series of events dating back to 1992.
In November 1992 Prime Minister Samuel Hinds invited the GB&GWU to a meeting in his Kingston office and advised the union that Linmine, as of 1993, will cut its production level significantly and as such there would likely be a reduction in staff. When the union advised the members of the Prime Minister’s information, he together with the management of Linmine did not confirm the discussion and indicated there would not be any staff cut. In February 1993 the management invited the unions in Linmine to commence discussions for permanent separation of a number of employees. The GB&GWU was hardest hit since most of its members were either retrenched or reclassified bringing its membership in Linmine to that of 30. The union immediately embarked on a re-organizing drive by recruiting all the persons who were reclassified and applied for recognition which was stymied by the Ministry of Labour for a number of years.
The union conscious of the government intention to make it extinct moved outside of its traditional base and organized Prittipaul Investment, which saw games being played by the Ministry of Labour’s representatives who were given the task of conducting the survey. The union was advised in writing that it did not have the required 40% support to acquire bargaining rights, only to subsequently find out that the union had acquired 48% although the numbers made public showed that the union did not receive the support.
The union also moved to organize the gold mining facility ATK and the results showed that they had the required support for recognition but the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board accepted a plea from the company on the grounds that they are going to reorganize and denied the GB&GWU the right to bargain on behalf of those workers.
At Oldendorff Carriers the GB&GWU and the CCWU applied for bargaining rights and the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board ordered a poll to determine the majority. The day before the poll the CCWU withdrew and the poll was called off. It took the Ministry of Labour and the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board three years to respect GB&GWU as the workers’ choice.
When the government handed over the Bermine facility to Aroaima Mining in its effort to keep the union out they made the workers contract employees and advised them that they cannot join a union. The GB&GWU embarked on a programme of organizing the workers and after the application for recognition NAACIE applied for the same bargaining unit. A poll was then held and the GB&GWU was declared the majority to represent the workers.
The GB&GWU has won bargaining rights at Linden Utility Cooperative Society Limited for a number of years and has been bargaining with the management on behalf of the workers. To shut the union out the government removed the elected board and appointed its cohorts to the board who then moved to deny the union the right to bargain on behalf of the workers for a number of years. Both the Ministry of Labour and the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board sat idly by and did nothing, in as much as this issue was reported to them on numerous occasions.
The Linden Electricity Incorporated where the GB&GWU has been granted bargaining rights since 2007 has refused to bargain with the union and the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board, in as much as it has taken a decision to bring to the attention of the management its dereliction, has thus far been reluctant to take further action to ensure the respect for Section 23(1) of the Recognition Act. As the alternate representative for the Trades Union Congress on the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board, and watching the decision-making processes of the board members, I am convinced that many decisions are not driven by law.
The Universal Catering Services is another case where the union has been granted bargaining rights for a number of years and the management has refused to bargain with the union on the grounds that they work for BCGI and if BCGI doesn’t want this union then they cannot have the union. This matter is now engaging the attention of the Ministry of Labour and it is hoped that the law will trump politics.
These are only a few instances of the onslaught this union has been under by the PPP government and its agencies.
Yours faithfully,
Leslie Gonsalves
