Dear Editor,
It is not our usual practice to respond to letters and complaints being raised in the media because our Company prides itself in being open and transparent with our work and overall operations. This is so because the Guyana Goldfields Inc. of which AGM Inc. is a subsidiary is a listed Company and every aspect of our performance is open for review by all our stakeholders and persons concerned. The letter to the editor captioned `The new Government must investigate working conditions at Guyana Goldfields’, Kaieteur News dated July 10, 2015 has made several allegations and observations which if left unchallenged can result in persons concluding that they are indeed true.
As you know Guyana Goldfields has been in Guyana for more than 18 years and throughout the greater period of this time was involved in the exploration of various properties within the interior of Guyana, a period which saw the company invest significant sums of money without any commercial mining or explorative finds. During the Exploration Phase from 1996 to 2014, the Company hired persons on a seasonal basis meaning that whenever funds were available various activities would have been undertaken for either drilling or opening of exploration sites. These persons worked on and off and since this period did not allow for any permanency of employment, employees were given ‘Seasonal Contracts’ which would have been between 6 weeks to 12 weeks periods. Payments were made to them for daily work and the company provided transportation to and from work. Most of the employees hailed from the various hinterland communities who were more willing to work in these remote areas.
After the company discovered the Rory’s Knoll Deposit in the Cuyuni and the geological and mining assessment was completed a decision was taken to build the Aurora Mine. In late 2011 work commenced to open up a road to the mining location. There were several starts and stops and this project inched slowly until in 2013 a major effort was made to finally complete the road from the Tapir Location West of the Cuyuni River to the Aurora Mine Location on the East of the Cuyuni River. This Project saw the hiring of several operators and a small number of mechanics, whilst it continued to maintain three camp facilities at Buck Hall on the Essequibo, Tapir on the West Bank of the Cuyuni and the Aurora Camp. Whilst this was taking place further exploration drilling was being done at the Aurora location. Each employee was temporarily hired for these projects which were intended to last for at least one year. All of these seasonal employees who worked with the company were paid daily rates and were provided with both accommodations and meals.
It was not until the road project was completed that work on the construction phase of the mine could have been possible, hence in 2014 the company commenced working on this second phase of the mining cycle which is mine development/construction. It is no secret at this point in time to your readers that the Company invited international bids for this exercise and from a very exhaustive list of bidders two companies were selected based on their experience and abilities namely Grana y Montero one of the largest construction companies in South America recognized for the construction of several mining and other development works throughout South America and Sedgman a world renowned engineering and construction company from Australia. Together they formed a joint venture and established a company registered in Guyana as the GSJV.
While their contract was specific and their deliverables timely it was recognized quite early in the process by all of the various bidding companies that through surveys undertaken that various skills and expertise were unavailable in Guyana to adequately satisfy their construction needs. The skills which were available in Guyana and would have been utilized were limited and those which could not have been found would have been allowed to be brought into the country by the construction company. To this end the GSJV embarked on a wide and intensive recruitment exercise throughout Guyana conducting interviews in almost every one of the coastal regions and recruited several of the skills therefrom.
The GSJV as part of its Contract was to adhere to all of the Guyana Goldfields Inc./AGM Inc. Policies and Procedure and to adhere to all of the local laws and conventions. It is for these reasons that their wages and salary structure was exactly the same as is applicable to the Guyana Goldfields Inc./AGM Inc. including the working schedules and Benefits.
In the meantime the GGI/AGM were required to complete some developmental work in readiness for the construction of the mill by the GSJV and this included in the main the construction of the camp accommodation, laundry, cafeteria along with adequate communication facilities, a wharf and the preparation and completion of various earthworks in readiness for the mill construction in addition to the building of the tailings dams, reservoirs and the camp internal roadways. These exercises required a fully functional and operational logistics team to be able to transport by land and air to and from the Aurora Site which is some 154 km from its Buck Hall facility. All of these activities began in earnest in 2014 and extensive advertisements were posted in all of the dailies to fill several vacant positions geared for the completion of the Project.
At this point our workforce increased from a mere 100 employees to 700 all hired temporarily for the duration of the project. Because the project was done on a phased basis there were no permanent contracts offered to those employees who the company needed only for the project duration. Hence those hired were given short contracts ranging between 3 to 6 weeks at a time and depending on the need, new contracts were given. During this mine development/construction phase it is obvious that the company does not receive any form of revenue yet it prides itself as being one of the most competitive employers in Guyana. We cannot nor would not speak for others who are in the same phase of development but we are acutely aware that we have the largest workforce when compared to other companies.
Whilst we do not pay our employees a daily rate during the mine development/construction as was the case during the exploration phase, all are now being paid hourly rates and overtime after the completion of 8 hours at 1 ½ times for all hours worked thereafter, and 1 ½ times for all hours worked on Saturdays, 2 times for all hours worked on Sundays and Holidays. To this end we must expose the following information:
Skilled Types – Average Daily Rate (Monday-Friday)
Mechanics – $11,000 per day
Welders – $11,500 per day
Electricians – $10,000 per day
Operators – $12,000 per day
Millwright – $12,000 per day
– Saturday Average day pay for Skilled
– $14,000
– Sunday Average day pay for skilled
– $18,000
Semi-Skilled/Laborers – Cooks – $9,000 per day
Cleaners – $6,000 per day
Laborers – $5,700 per day
Saturdays Unskilled Average Daily
$8,125.00
Sundays Unskilled Average Daily
11,000.00
All Hourly paid employees are also paid a Night Shift Premium for work done between 6pm to 6am for hours worked.
Every employee is covered under a Group Life Insurance Plan which covers them on or off the job even when at their homes for death due to natural causes, accidental death, injury or dismemberment. In the event of accidental death a double indemnity is paid on or off the job even at home on their days off.
The Company also covers its employees and their immediate families through a Group Health Insurance Plan which caters for any medical expenses incurred. In addition there is Major Medical coverage for the employee and his immediate family in the event of any prolonged period of hospitalization up to a value of $900,000 This plan also covers the employee for Spectacles and recently the company has been finalizing the Medical Evacuation Plan for emergencies overseas and this will accommodate any employee who requires such assistance.
All our employees pay their Income Tax (PAYE) and National Insurance and so does the Company.
Employees are also covered for sick leave up to a total of 12 days per annum.
The company covers employees who suffer accidents on the job by ensuring that for the periods that they are off the job they do not lose any payment of wages and salaries up to a period of 26 weeks. During this period all expenses are paid including the total cost of any medical expenses incurred, travelling to see doctors for themselves and any member of their family including any other incidentals.
Vacation Pay is paid to all contract employees at the end of each contract period.
The Company provides a Bereavement Assistance in the event of a death in the employee’s immediate family, in this respect the employee is granted a soft loan up to the value of $50,000 repayable over a period of time in addition to sponsoring one night of the family wake.
Employees work a scheduled period of 21 days and off for 7 days … this is expected to change during the mine operations phase to 14 days of work and 7 days off.
The company provides transportation for all of its employees from its offices to its work locations either at Buck Hall which is by land and boat or to Aurora which is by land and air via Ogle using several of the air services.
On site employees are housed in rooms which are fully air conditioned.
The various camp cafeterias provide meals free of cost by qualified, trained and experienced expatriate and local chefs.
The selections per each meal are often quite wide and varied along with a variety of fruits and desserts. In addition to this snacks are provided throughout the day and at nights.
The company has made available several recreational facilities for both indoor and outdoor events including a very modern gym, several pools tables, tennis tables and other indoor games … for the outdoor there is a recently constructed playing field equipped with football, volleyball and basketball facilities.
The company also provides free of cost extensive WiFi facilities to employees who use their Smart Phones for communication and is in the process of stocking a library and completing an Internet Café.
In the past months the employees have established an Employees Consultative Committee which has been responsible for the resolution of employees’ grievances, the organizing of sports and cultural events.
Each dormitory is equipped with wide screen televisions which broadcast sports and other programmes as chosen by employees.
The company has made provision for the employees who wish to observe their individual religious beliefs and a Quiet Room for any employee who would like to meditate or be alone in the event of any stressful situation.
The company maintains an up to date medical facility at each of its locations and at the Aurora location the facility is equipped with two Medical Doctors and two Medex, a well-equipped ambulance and a Medical Evacuation Programme which is in place but has been available for sometime not only for our employees but the residents of the surrounding communities.
The company embarked on an extensive training programme to expose every employee to training in areas where they were skilled, to this end the company contracted MACORP to conduct an intensive programme to train every operator in the use of various types of equipment and have them certified. Also employees were exposed to up to date Safety training with respect to Construction requirements, driving, safe handling of chemicals and other emergency responses.
We do understand that at this time when the mine development/construction phase is at its end and some employees would no longer be offered contracts that there would be some amount of anxiety leading them to make all kinds of allegations against the company. However from the inception of this phase employees were told that the project would be completed within a defined period hence their various work attachments and that the mine operations would not have been able to absorb all of the 700 + employees who have been working for varying periods.
The Mine Operations Phase will see an employment of a little over 500 persons as it grows and develops working hand in hand with a small number of expatriate professionals who bring their wide array of experience to share with our local workforce.
It is anticipated that this number would be less than 26 expatriate personnel who are mostly assigned to the Mills, Maintenance and Mines.
It should also be noted that several Guyanese employees who have expanded their experiences in other Mining companies abroad have been recruited and are now in fact playing leading roles in both the Mills and Maintenance fields.
Yours faithfully,
Peter Benny
Human Resource Manager
Guyana Goldfields Inc./AGM Inc.
