Dear Editor,
The current public relations stunt by the Government of Guyana on matters relating to the bauxite industry have not and will not fool the communities and workers whose lives are directly affected by bauxite.
December 2012 marked three years since the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) has refused to treat with the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU), which is a violation of Section 23 of the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Act, Chapter 98:01. The Minister of Labour, Dr Nanda Gopaul, who has given the High Court a commitment to reissue the Letter of Arbitration, is still to act, and the GB&GWU believes his decision is another act of contempt the PPP has for the rule of law and the judiciary.
Respect for rights and the courts regardless of who benefits or feels the consequences is not being universally applied. Yet the government and sections of society would want us to believe this is the “return to democracy.” Return to democracy for this society has come to mean corruption, marginalisation, greed, oppression and unethical behaviour by holders of high office. There is disregard for the law, and many are denied what’s rightly theirs under the law.
The heightened interest shown by the government in bauxite is only because it is making money while the Russians and Chinese so far have shown no respect for our laws and Guyanese. The government, and by extension the people of Guyana, have co-ownership of BCGI and BOSAI but to date this government has refused to ensure respect for the laws of the land and the rights of bauxite workers and their families. These violations constitute a new form of exploitation of Guyana’s labour force. Though there are laws that clearly state how workers must be treated and employers comply, when it comes to bauxite workers the government turns a blind eye to their mistreatment because it serves their purpose.
With all due respect to the workforce in the sugar sector, they do not have to suffer what their counterparts in bauxite are going through. Statistics and evidence in the public domain strengthen this claim. In other societies bauxite workers would have been used as model workers with unions and companies trying to emulate their standards. Performance, competence and innovation are not admired and rewarded under this administration. These qualities are misguidedly seen as opportunities for exploitation by a government which is clearly out of its depth on matters of good governance and management. And this letter serves to remind the government that the bauxite workforce too is Guyanese.
It was the families of these workers that paved the way for others not have to suffer similar treatment and stood beside them as they fought for their dignity. Bauxite workers will not be the mule for anyone. Having learnt from the lessons of the past the current violations will continue to meet resistance. The wheels of production cannot turn without the workers, and the boasted billions from sales and proposed expansion of production cannot be achieved without the workers.
This society must not be fooled by the few scholarships given out by BCGI and their community outreaches, because such fall under the category of corporate responsibility, and in fact were BCGI a good corporate citizen it would obey our laws and respect the workers’ rights. The General Manager who had threatened workers with a spade has been returned to the Aroaima location even as BCGI in their own inquiry stated that this manager’s conduct was unbecoming. The manager can only be brought back because the government is party to the programme of disrespect and oppression. For far less the PPP and its unions would have created waves in this society if such treatment were meted out to sugar workers, and their actions would have been supported. The African workforce is no less deserving if we are truly living in a society where all must be treated equally.
Current President Donald Ramotar came from the trade union (GAWU), and walked with bauxite workers who know he would not have allowed the PNC government to treat sugar workers in the manner the PPP is treating bauxite workers and their communities.
Yours faithfully,
Leslie Gonsalves
President
GB&GWU.
