Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally says that the government would have to examine the future of Russian bauxite company, RUSAL here after it refused to reinstate 60 dismissed workers and fired another 30 yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) will be mobilising its membership to begin protesting tomorrow morning the actions by the RUSAL-owned Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI).
Following an engagement between government ministers and BCGI’s parent company, RUSAL, a response was expected by yesterday on the reinstatement of the workers who were dismissed on February 18th after strike action.
A meeting was held yesterday between Minister Ally, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with responsibility for labour Keith Scott, Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle and RUSAL representative Vladimir Permyakov and BCGI Personnel Officer Mikhail Krupenin, where the company made it clear that it will not reinstate the previously sacked 60 workers. The company has also reportedly started a process to hire new employees and is disassembling machinery.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, Ally yesterday told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that an amicable solution had not been arrived at hence the decision to review the company’s operations here.
“It is very clear that you do not want an amicable solution to this matter, because you have put on the table issues to the Government of Guyana which says take it or leave. I believe that this is very unreasonable for you to do,” DPI reported Ally as having told the company’s representatives.
She said none of the things agreed to prior, have been honoured.
“We have asked that the (60) workers be reinstated immediately. You have now before us, conditions that all the people who are working are not paid, and that will not gel with the labour laws of this country”, she further told RUSAL, DPI said.
Noting that while workers are being dismissed, the company is at the same time seeking out other persons to join a new shift, Ally told DPI that the move is ludicrous.
“Why do you want to punish the existing workers instead of settling a dispute which is existing,” she questioned. “I can tell you for sure we definitely have to look at the future of the company. This is not right for workers to be punished in this respect.”
DPI also reported Minister with responsibility for Labour, Scott as saying that the government will not go back on its word of support to the workers. He said the reinstatement of workers is not an option.
“What we want you to take back is that we want the workers reinstated… Workers have the right to organise and strike, and you cannot make any moves against that. Any time you dismiss 60 and that amount you are sending a psychological message that you are the master of them, and they dare not strike”, DPI reported Scott as saying.
The workers began striking on February 15th, following the imposition of a unilateral 1% increase in wages by the company, along with other unaddressed issues, including BCGI’s unwillingness to recognise the union as the workers’ bargaining agent.
Ally, who met workers last Friday, had assured that all issues would be addressed and said that getting the 60 workers who were dismissed back on the job was paramount. She also said that the union must be recognised by the company.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, head of the GB&GWU Lincoln Lewis confirmed that it was related to him that the 30 more workers have been dismissed but he said he had not seen the dismissal letters that were sent to them.
“One worker being dismissed and the union is not comfortable, so 30 more being dismissed and the union will not be comfortable. This is not a matter of dismissal… It’s not about us, it’s not about the workers, it’s about the challenging of the laws and the constitution. It’s a question of how Guyanese are prepared to respond to this process of recolonisation,” Lewis said.
The union has a meeting with the Ministry of Social Protection scheduled for today.
Lewis also said the union met with the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and the Federation of Independent Trades Union of Guyana (FITUG) and they have agreed on a common strategy to address the issue.
This, he said, will be a public protest that they will be starting tomorrow morning in front of RUSAL’s headquarters in Queenstown. The GB&GWU will also be taking the GTU and FITUG to Aroaima on Friday morning.
“We are going to send an emissary to Linden to start doing some mobilisation there but we are taking a very public posture on this issue. We are not going to allow the whole question of recolonisation to take place here,” he said.
