The laidback approach to resolving industrial issues between the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) and majority Russian-owned Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI) is an illustration of the Department of Labour’s “incompetence”, General Secretary of the union Lincoln Lewis has said.
A visibly-frustrated Lewis told reporters at a press conference yesterday that the Department of Labour has failed to aggressively find a solution to the matter and he singled out junior Minister of Social Protection with responsibility for Labour Keith Scott, Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle and Consultant to the Labour Department Francis Carryl.
“Ogle, Scott and the others in there are incompetent. That’s the story—a bunch of incompetent men who are working for the employer against the state,” an upset Lewis declared.
The union and the RUSAL-owned BCGI have been in a decade-long labour dispute over a number of issues, including wages. Following workers’ strikes last year, the company signed an agreement to engage the union to find a solution but this never occurred.
Last month, BCGI workers were laid off and the company had said that this action was a result of not receiving fuel concession from the government. A week later, BCGI laid off a second set of workers after the employees who were initially sacked had placed a barrier across the river. With no resolution within the last two weeks, earlier this week, the company announced the termination of 326 workers, inclusive of the 288 workers that were laid off.
According to Lewis, the Labour Department has been working against the union and workers and has been dragging their feet on finding a solution. He explained that at a recent meeting when he called for voluntary arbitration, “Ogle, Scott and Carryl asked who is going to pay for it.”
The trade unionist explained that under such agreement, the parties would have to foot the bill for the arbitration but if the top brass of the Labour Department is asking such questions, senior Minister Amna Ally, who is responsible for the Social Protection Ministry, should seek new advisers.
“If basic things like that they cannot understand how the hell they can advise the minister? She better get rid of them because they will humiliate her for their incompetence…,” Lewis declared.
He emphasised that the union is calling for arbitration and that while some might think such a move is not necessary given that the workers are already laid off, they will still be able to benefit.
“It not whether they are employees or not. They were employees. This company continues to be a legal company on the books; we have a recognition agreement between the two parties. The negotiation is not only for the future, it is for the back. Whenever you are finished and whatever increase you have, people who are sent home will benefit from it,” the union’s General Secretary explained.
Lewis highlighted that the actions from past and present governments send the message that they are afraid to hold the Russian company accountable for its actions.
“Nobody wants to hold RUSAL (Russian Aluminum) accountable for their acts here since they came here. From Bharrat Jagdeo [failed] but the only one that tried was [former President Donald] Ramotar and Amna Ally tried weakly last week and she start to run away. We have to stop running away from the people,” Lewis stressed.
The General Secretary added that government has been asking for the workers to be reemployed but failed to recognise that BCGI has been removing machinery from the Aroaima mines.
“They [the ministers and Department of Labour] are going there and asking RUSAL in the first instance to reemploy these people. RUSAL carried away all their mining equipment. How daft are we? If these people carrying away the mining equipment, you believe any word from them that they gone reemploy the people?” questioned Lewis as he pointed out that it is time for political intervention.
He argued that it doesn’t matter where the company is moving its machinery since the bauxite is at Aroaima and the movement of machinery should indicate something is amiss.
“These people tell you one thing here and change the story there all the time. They keep looking for boogie man or look at somebody in the union to blame. You stand up for your rights in this country and they blame you. If you stand up and ask for the laws to be respected, you are wrong. They tell you accept something else,” Lewis said in reaction to RUSAL’s approach to dealing with the matter.
Dozens of workers remained on guard yesterday, watching a barrier placed across the Berbice River. Police were also at the scene.
On Thursday, police attempted to remove the barricade across the river and this resulted in a standoff. The barricade across the river was put in place to prevent BCGI’s barges from passing.
As a result, barges belonging to BCGI have been docked at their wharf close to the mine site and unable to travel to New Amsterdam to offload.
Region 10 Commander Superintendent Hugh Winter on Thursday had told Stabroek News that upon returning to the area, police were greeted by a hostile crowd. He explained that residents and workers are upset that they were trying to remove the barrier across the river.
According to Winter, lawmen were forced to stand down to keep the crowd calm and maintain the peace.
Armed and unarmed ranks were posted to the area to monitor the situation. On Wednesday evening, the police had removed ropes and drums used to block the river.
Untimely visit
During the afternoon of that day, several supporters of the ANPU+AFC coalition told People’s Progressive Party Prime Ministerial Candidate Mark Phillips and his team that they were not welcome.
“The recent unannounced/uninvited visit by PPP/C candidate Juan Edghill and Prime Ministerial Candidate Brigadier Mark Phillips to the workers’ encampment site at Aroaima was met with rejection by workers and a supportive community who were unprepared for same. This visit as a result was viewed to be untimely. It also appears as incidental and an afterthought since there was an organised PPP campaign rally in the vicinity. I am sure there was adequate time that notice could have been given to the community and workers,” the Branch Secretary of the GB&GWU said in a statement yesterday.
Edghill, meanwhile, in a statement recounting the incident, said, “On arrival at the waterfront in the Landersville area we engaged in one-on–one conversations with various individuals. In the process of those engagements we were heckled by a small group of persons wearing APNU/AFC T-shirts and waving flags. This outburst began when a known PNC leader told the people not to listen to Edghill and Phillips. The indecency and vulgarity that accompanies such mobilisation ensued.”
He acknowledged that after the PPP team had completed 13 successful meetings over the last three days in Ituni, Kwakwani and Upper Berbice River areas, they made an impromptu stop at the site of the river blockage. Edghill said the purpose of the stop was to “hear from the workers who were already gathered at the location. We had earlier heard of the reports of a standoff between the police and the dismissed workers. As leaders who will form the next government we went merely to observe and listen to the concerns of the affected persons.”
Despite the actions of the company, no clear indication has been given to the government as to whether it is permanently ceasing its operation here.
In a statement issued on the day of the most recent firing of workers, RUSAL said, “As a 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 at BCGI.”
It added that as the unrest impacting the company’s operations continues, it believes the opportunities for doing further business in Guyana are now severely limited. Further, on the grounds of security and safety, it noted that all expatriate employees have been relocated.
It also assured that 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.
