Citing its inability to produce due to the continuing obstruction of traffic in the Berbice River, RUSAL’s subsidiary Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) yesterday fired 326 workers and announced the suspension of its operations, prompting both government and the workers’ union to accuse it of instigating upheaval in order to influence the upcoming March 2nd general elections.
The company’s decisions came as a surprise to government officials, including Social Protection Ministers Amna Ally and Keith Scott, with whom the BCGI’s management met yesterday morning and they have since called on the company to reinstate all workers and work within the law to resolve longstanding labour issues.
Vladimir Permyakov, RUSAL’s Country Representative, informed the meeting at the Ministry of Social Protection’s Lamaha Street, Georgetown office of the company’s decision due to the “abnormal condition.” Workers have placed obstructions in the river after layoffs began two weeks ago.
Responding to the announcement, Scott, who holds the responsibility for the Department of Labour, said the sackings were being done in bad faith.
“You don’t know what we would have been offering, you don’t know whether we could have said this is your solution but you’re already telling us now that you came full well having determined to terminate everybody…this is bad faith,” Scott said, while declaring that the company’s actions were in violation of the country’s labour laws.
Permyakov, however, stated that the decision was an “emergency” one and he maintained it was not influenced by the current political climate in the country.
Earlier in the meeting, Minister Ally suggested that the situation was being politicised and she highlighted the timing given the proximity of the polls.
In a statement posted on its website, the company announced the suspension of the operations of its business in Guyana and cited continuing unrest.
According to the statement, RUSAL is of the view and believes “opportunities for doing further business in Guyana are now severely limited.” It further said that on the grounds of security and safety, all “expatriate employees have been relocated.”
The company further explained that given the “result of serious illegitimate actions that have gone beyond the control of government and enforcement agencies, including arson of the electricity pylon basement and other corporate property, and blocking of the river, RUSAL considers it prudent to suspend and mothball operations of BCGI.” It was also stated that the services of 326 workers were terminated.
“The suspension of BCGI will have no impact on the Company’s overall performance, as the expected decline in the overall bauxite supply from Guyana will be substituted with raw material from other mines,” the statement added.
‘Political mischief’
During the meeting Ally sought clarity on whether the company was packing up its operations here, but Permyakov responded in the negative and said operations are only being suspended.
RUSAL representatives during the meeting said that within the last few weeks their operations have been stifled by delays by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in approving concessions despite early application.
However, Scott informed Permyakov that such reasoning should not have resulted in laying off of staff since it’s more of a management issue rather than an industrial issue. He noted that workers should not have been pressured.
Ally interjected and said that RUSAL should have contacted them for their intervention rather than taking the current position. “You cannot expect approvals in a day. We are a country. We have governance…,” she said, while voicing her belief that the company’s actions were willful and politically-motivated. “We are twenty something days away from elections and you choose to bring this now? You didn’t choose to do it all along… you are complaining now about GRA. You choose now to raise it? But let me tell you something, sir, the workers are going to stand firm with this government,” she stressed. “They [RUSAL] are seeming to politicise the situation. We expect them to be non-partisan but when it is close to elections I believe political mischief [is] afoot but workers should not be caught in political situations or gimmicks,” Ally further said.
The meeting, which lasted for close to an hour, ended with no resolution and the BCGI team is expected to meet on Wednesday with the Department of Labour.
During the meeting, Ally said the company needs to agree on a collective bargaining agreement before they can move forward and settle all disputes.
“We cannot allow for our workers to continue to suffer in this respect, so if we have to go to arbitration, we are going to go to arbitration and let us make a decision. Unfortunately, I have to tell you that if it’s a case that RUSAL wants to leave under this government… then do it the normal way,” she added.
The minister stated that the government was saddened by the route taken by the company and noted that it illustrates that BCGI has no intention of “reconciliation or for us to come to a consensus.”
“I ask the question and it seems clear that they are wrapping up their operations. They had machinery on barges ready to take it on ocean going vessels. It is total disrespect,” Ally said while adding that she has made demands and advocated for a peaceful and consensual decision on this matter.
“We don’t want any side to lose. We want both sides to win. It is not easy for 326 to be terminated and we are calling for all of them to be rehired and then we take it from there,” the minister said yesterday. She also stated that the ministry would like to see the compensation of two workers who were shocked in December while on the job. She also called for the transportation to be returned for the children of Aroaima so they can attend school. Transportation was reportedly withdrawn after the erection of the obstruction in the river by workers.
Provocation
Meanwhile, the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) accused RUSAL of seeking to “provoke confrontation” with the government and people of Guyana with the latest firings.
In the letters of termination, workers were informed that their last day of work was on February 2nd and that they will be offered severance packages.
“GB&GWU sees this new act as part of the recent calculated strategy to influence our elections by creating social upheavals. The company is seeking to buy time in the hope that 2nd March delivers the desired results,” the union opined in its statement.
“If this disrespect for Guyana and Guyanese is not addressed in a forthright manner, we are in for serious challenges,” it said, adding that while Guyana has welcomed the company into its home, it is seeking to trample us.
The union, which has been calling for arbitration to settle longstanding issues, also assured the government that it has the support of the workers and citizens to do what is right by this country.
At a meeting last Friday, Permyakov had emphasised that the obstruction of riverine traffic was an unlawful action under the laws of Guyana….”
In January, a total of 288 employees were laid off by BCGI. The initial layoffs were done on the basis of the company claiming that it did not receive the necessary concession for duty-free importation of fuel. Last Wednesday, on the eve of a scheduled meeting with the Department of Labour, the company informed a second set of workers that they were being laid off due to BCGI not being able to transport fuel to the mines as a result of the river being blocked. Permyakov had said then that should the barrier be removed, the company could restart operations and recall employees hours later.
“We will be happy to recall all of them because we cannot work when there is no conditions for restarting…because the river is still blocked,” Permyakov said, while explaining that the transshipment of the bauxite from the mines is an important part of the production line. He insisted that his company did not violate the labour laws and contended that the Department of Labour misapplied section 12 (3) of the Termination and Severance Pay Act.
“We have written assessments of professionals of labour laws and Guyana laws… they misapply section 12 part 3 as it relates to layoff. Layoff is not terminating. Our experts and our lawyers say everything was done correctly,” Permyakov said.
He claimed that the decision to lay off employees on the first occasion was triggered by the company receiving an artificial grade of fuel. “It was [a] state where we were victims of an artificial grade of fuel crisis…We promised that once fuel arrives and the river isn’t blocked, we shall restart our operations. We told them this in the company notice. We said we shall recall all of the 142 employees. We were ready to recall from Wednesday morning but river was still blocked. Then we got fuel but river is still blocked and it makes no sense to restart operations…” Permyakov said as he explained the rationale behind the second round of layoffs.
