Dozens of workers from the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI) and representatives from their union, the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) staged a protest yesterday morning to press for an end to the ongoing industrial dispute with the company.
The workers, along with head of the GB&GWU Lincoln Lewis, President of the GTUC Coretta McDonald along with FITUG and President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) Komal Chand staged the protest outside of the Queenstown offices of BCGI’s, parent company, RUSAL.
The representatives of the unions said that they will continue protesting for as long as the impasse between the company and the workers and their union continues.
Lewis also emphasised that the rationale behind BCGI’s dismissal of the initial 61 workers because of their decision to strike is null and void given that employees have the constitutional freedom to protest. An additional 30 workers were subsequently dismissed due to the disruption of the company’s operations as a result of the ongoing strike action.
Meanwhile, at Aroaima, workers continued blocking the company’s barges from traversing the Berbice River. The workers strung oil barrels and jars on wires across the width of the river. According to the GB&GWU Secretary Leslie Junor, the river was still blocked yesterday and up to press time no work was going on at the Kwakwani mines. About 180 persons are said to be still on strike.
Junor also pointed out that they are not blocking private vessels from using the river, only the BCGI barges from entering and exiting the area.
“From information we have received, there are three empty ones [barges] waiting to come in and three waiting to go out; one is filled, one is half filled and the other is empty. So until the company come to our proposals, when they come to terms with us, we will open the river. You must agree to the union and the workers you have allegedly dismissed and you must take back every single one of them,” Junor declared, while stating that they are prepared to keep up their actions as long as the impasse continues.
“We are not opening the river and if they decide to keep it up, we are going to keep it up too. Every extra day that their ship is docked in the Berbice River mouth, we heard that they have to pay one million dollars in fees,” he added.
Despite company representatives including Vladimir Permyakov and Personnel Officer Mikhail Krupenin meeting with Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection Keith Scott and Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle, there has been no progress.
The company’s representatives have also made it clear that they have no intentions of rehiring the dismissed workers.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo was also questioned on the situation at a press conference yesterday and he said that his party stands in solidarity with the workers but would be unable to make any further comments since he was not privy to what the company has been telling the government.
In 2009, under the then PPP/C administration, 57 workers were fired by the company for similar actions.
“We have lent them [government] tonnes of advice on how to treat workers with
respect and they have not done anything. This government is not interested in listening… Let them deal with it alone. The workers have our solidarity and I prefer to deal with the workers alone. We will talk to workers but not with this government because they are just interested in politicising the whole issue… They can’t defend anyone’s interest, not the workers, not the people of Guyana,” he said.
Jagdeo also stressed that the government should not make the issue a “media show” before adding that companies, particularly foreign companies, must respect the country’s labour laws and workers.
Through a press release from FITUG and GTUC, the unions called on the company to immediately reinstate the dismissed workers, to recognise the GB&GWU as their bargaining agent and to engage the union in sincere collective bargaining.
The union also met with the Social Protection Ministry on Wednesday and Lewis suggested to Ally that they should begin the process of compulsory arbitration.
The impasse between the company and the workers began on February 15th, after the unilateral imposition of a 1% increase in wages was the final straw for workers, who decided to strike.
After the industrial action continued over the weekend, a meeting was set at the Department of Labour on February 18th to facilitate talks between the company and the union. However, the company refused to attend the meeting once Lewis was present.
As a result, only the union attended the meeting. However, on the same day 61 workers were fired and one subsequently was allowed to return to work.
On February 19th, Permyakov and Krupenin met with the Social Protection Ministry and confirmed to the media that they sacked the workers due to their decision to protest. Permyakov had explained that certain clauses in the workers’ contracts prevents them from taking industrial action, which the ministry and the union both say is illegal.
Despite meeting with government ministers, who have urged the reinstatement of the sacked workers, Permyakov has said the company would not be reinstating them. Sources also told Stabroek News that the company has started the process to fill the vacancies.
