Dear Editor,
My attention has been drawn to the letter written by Mr Lincoln Lewis headlined, “Workers’ rights cannot be put into abeyance” (SN, 7/10/2018). The letter was shared liberally with the media and I believe that a response is necessary. Mr Lewis, in his usual inimitable style, seeks to flay myself as the Minister of Natural Resources, for what he suggests is failing to stand up for the rights of workers at the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI), a subsidiary of Rusal.
Justifiably, and understandably so, Mr Lewis, a veteran trades union leader, has always been vociferous about protecting the rights of workers. I have said to him privately on several occasions that though I disagree with him on many positions and find his facts to be often wrong, I admire and understand his tireless struggle. Unlike Mr Lewis, I will not seek to ‘flay’, ‘blast’ or ‘slam’ him in ad hominem attack, and will respond differently.
On this occasion, I wish to call attention to some facts which I believe he has been misinformed about. I feel it is my duty to bring these to his attention, lest these misconceptions are seen as fact.
Firstly, the statement that no Terms of Reference were developed by the Minister is erroneous. There was actually a single and specific Term of Reference developed by Cabinet at its Ministerial Conference held on April 24, 2018, which is as follows:
“Conference agreed that a task force led by the Minister in the Ministry of Natural Resources, and comprising representatives of the Ministries of Legal Affairs and Finance, would be convened to hold discussions with the workers of Rusal on the impact of the sanctions on the work force.”
It is clear, therefore, that there was no need for me as Minister of Natural Resources, to develop any ToRs, and also, Hon Simona Broomes, MP, was present at the Ministerial Conference and she can support this. It therefore meant that at the first meeting held, there was no need for me to task the Task Force with crafting new and different ToRs than those already directed by Cabinet. It is also clear what the mandate of the Task Force was, and is to be.
Another error of Mr Lewis emanates from his misconstruing of a letter that I sent to the Managing Director of BGCI dated December 20, 2017, in response to a letter received. Mr Lewis has a copy of the letter and should publish it in full as it was a response to a letter that I had previously received dated December 13, 2017, informing me that BGCI had finally resolved, with the GRA, the legacy issue of income tax deductions being made from overtime payments.
Both the Minister of Finance and I, had promised the workers that this benefit of not having overtime earnings taxed, would be restored, and I was pleased that the company was reporting a breakthrough with GRA over monies already remitted as this meant more money was going into the workers’ pockets. That news, together with the update that a huge investment had just been made into a new plant and machinery for the bauxite operations, were worthy of government’s commendation and support, and as the letter shows, I congratulated both the company and the workers for what I thought was good news for both.
Thirdly, with respect to my reference to Government’s position regarding workers, I believe I was in order as the workers are represented by a union, which fought hard for that right. I was aware that there had been a trade union recognition poll conducted in October 2017 for the very workers of the BGCI, and the government had taken a decision not to show favour to either of the contenders. This was a position that I had conveyed to the management of the company previously when complaints had been raised about Mr Lewis’ actions, and government’s intervention was sought. My letter merely sought to reaffirm and reinforce the position that the government respected the right of the workers to have union representation, and that we would not intervene to subvert that right. Perhaps Mr Lewis needs to read the letter again to see that I was actually standing for, and not abandoning, the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union.
Fourthly, and lastly, Mr Lewis fails to recall that earlier in the year, he accompanied myself and Hon Simona Broomes, MP, to Aroaima, where I insisted that he be allowed to address the workers as part of my delegation; thus, reinforcing his legitimacy in the eyes of Rusal’s management.
I have on several occasions reminded Mr Lewis that the Ministry of Natural Resources is not the primary Ministry for the settling of labour issues within the extractive sector, or labour issues of any kind. The Ministry of Natural Resources has a fixed function as set by His Excellency, the President, and other Ministries have other duties – in an apt case of every joint contributing towards the building up of the entire government.
As the United States and the Russian Federation work through their issues elsewhere, we in the Ministry of Natural Resources will continue to work to ensure that bauxite is mined and shipped, so that workers and their families, and by extension, the national economy, can benefit. By no means, are we pushing aside the rights of workers and the legacy issues which remain, but at this time, our efforts are understandably focused on keeping the production going. Our sister Ministry, the Ministry of Social Protection, has been charged by the President, and directed by the Cabinet, to address the ongoing labour issues and these are not being taken lightly.
Yours faithfully,
Raphael Trotman
