The stalemate between the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI), its striking workers and their union, the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers of Union (GB&GWU), is expected to be discussed at today’s ministerial plenary, according to union leader Lincoln Lewis.
Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman visited the striking workers on Saturday and, according to Lewis, he assured them that the government would be looking at strong positions.
“He said he’s working closely [with] Minister [of Social Protection] Amna Ally and the matter with RUSAL [BCGI’s parent company] will be discussed amongst the ministers at the plenary tomorrow [today],” Lewis explained.
Lewis said he expects that there will be a discussion on a wider strategy since RUSAL’s infringement dates back to at least a decade ago and it has refused to respect the laws of Guyana. He said he also expects that an exit strategy for the company will be discussed as well.
“Something has to be done and arbitration precedes those things. All those things ought to be discussed and an exit strategy can run concurrently with arbitration,” he explained.
The industrial action by the workers started on February 15th after the company unilaterally imposed a one per cent increase in wages and has repeatedly refused to negotiate with the union.
Lewis said that the company has not paid salaries consistent to what exists in the mining industry.
“The government ought to be looking for alternative operators. Even if you have a resolution of the matter today or tomorrow, the company has a track record that they do the same thing everywhere they go. They treat workers anyhow and they don’t want to engage with the trade unions,” he added.
Trotman was quoted as saying in a Department of Public Information (DPI) news release on Saturday that he visited the protesting BCGI workers. “I thought it was important for me as the Minister of Natural Resources to actually see the condition because I have seen photographs sent to me by various residents in the community and the company, of the barricade across the river,” he noted.
The striking workers have obstructed the Berbice River, preventing the company’s barges from moving and have stated that they have no intention of moving the obstacle until the company accepts their terms and recognises the union.
Since the start of the strike, the company has sacked 90 workers.
After the initial firing of 60 workers, on February 19th, BCGI Personnel Officer Mikhail Krupenin and RUSAL representative Vladimir Permyakov met with the Department of Labour 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.
