Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton has expressed disappointment after his request to meet with workers without management present at Troy Resources’ gold mining operations was denied during his visit to the site on Wednesday.
Hamilton told Stabroek News yesterday that during his visit he met and spoke with employees and their employers in a shared space but he had wished to speak with workers alone in the absence of their superiors to have an understanding of their working conditions.
“I did not get to speak with employees without management being present. I made the request to management but it did not happen,” Hamilton said, while noting that he concluded that as a result workers were not able to freely communicate with management and raise issues of concern.
Further, the minister stated that he was surprised that with over 300 workers on site, the company had not encouraged the establishment of worker representation.
According to the minister, while the representation does not necessarily have to be unionized, he believes an employee-employer channel of communication will be effective in amicably resolving issues.
“I spoke to the General Manager of Operations, Colin Connors and recommended that they act on implementing a medium where a group of workers can meet with management rather than 300 workers meeting them single-handedly,” he explained.
He noted that he also recommended better relations between the company’s Guyanese management based in Georgetown and the miners.
“I have made these recommendations and I can only hope they will be implemented. We need to represent the rights of our workers and find ways to do so,” Hamilton stressed.
He pointed out that while Guyana is open to foreign investment and the government provides the facilities for this to take place, there must be representation of the local workforce’s interest.
“…Government values private investment in Guyana. We are open for business under this PPP government and we see the private sector as the engine of growth, but at the same time, local content must be taken into consideration… the Ministry of Labour has a role to play in ensuring companies recognise the need for a robust and holistic approach to local content in development,” Hamilton said.
During the tour, Hamilton said from what he and the head of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration observed, there has been no violation of occupational health and safety measures.
He stated that from his observations high standards informed the construction of the mine site, which should prevent any accidents from occurring.
Prior to the visit, the minister had said that his ministry received a number of complaints from workers of working conditions and this led him to visit the operations.
The death of geologist Ryan Taylor at Troy’s mine site on October 8th, 2019 saw the company’s operations being suspended for some time. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency said that two reports done by government agencies found Troy liable for the death of Taylor
