Unable to state definitively the future of sacked workers from the majority RUSAL-owned Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI), Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally has said that the “government has their back.”
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the APNU+AFC coalition’s manifesto launch on Friday, Ally said that the government is committed to ensuring that the sacked BCGI workers are taken care of.
Ally on Thursday met with workers at Aroaima, Berbice River. That was the first ministerial engagement with the workers since BCGI, which is a subsidiary of Russian Aluminum (RUSAL), terminated their services three weeks ago.
“Yesterday [Thursday], I met with the workers at RUSAL and they were very encouraged…basically the communication to them was government has their back and we are not going to let go of them; we are going to ensure that they are taken care off,” Ally said. The minister also informed workers that government is on their side.
She added that the future of RUSAL’s operation here remains unclear and her ministry is waiting to hear from the company.
The company was expected to provide written communication to the ministry during the course of last week but Ally was unable to state if such communication was received. She added that until the company gives a clear indication as to the future of its operations here, they cannot put any contingency plan in place.
Currently, the Department of Labour is checking whether workers were paid the correct amount of severance and other benefits.
Additionally, Ally disclosed that she is currently making arrangements to have a bus available in the community to transport students to school. Since BCGI halted its operations, they have discontinued their service to provide transportation to the students.
While there is no timeline as to when she expects to see a resolution of the issue, Ally said she remains hopeful that it will be resolved soon.
While speaking to Stabroek News via telephone on Tuesday, Ally said, “There are rules and laws that govern how we treat foreign companies and we are going to use those laws to address this.” She added that she is concerned over the welfare of the sacked workers and their families. RUSAL has fired a total of 326 workers and announced the suspension of its operations. This announcement came as a surprise to government officials as they were only made aware of the company’s decision during a meeting.
The Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU) and BCGI have been in a decade-long labour dispute over a number of issues, including wages. Following strikes last year, the company signed an agreement to engage the union to find a solution but this did not happen.
The union’s General Secretary Lincoln Lewis told Stabroek News on Friday that the union is still waiting to hear from the government on what progress has been made in relation to talks with the management of BGCI. “I have not heard from [the Department of] Labour and the issue remains the same. I had expected the government by now to do something. It is going on to four weeks now and it is time we get worried,” Lewis said.
During a meeting last Friday night with workers at Aroaima, Lewis encouraged them to remain strong and stand up for their rights.
Since January 23rd, workers and residents have been camping at the riverfront, keeping a watchful eye on a barrier erected across the Berbice River to prevent BCGI vessels from using the river. As a result, barges belonging to BCGI have been docked at their wharf close to the mine site and are unable to travel to New Amsterdam to offload.
On Thursday last, police attempted to remove the barrier across the river and this resulted in a standoff.
“Nobody wants to hold RUSAL 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,” a visibly frustrated Lewis had said.
The GB&GWU has been calling for arbitration to resolve the dispute in light of the failure of conciliation attempts.
