President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said that in the context of prevailing economic realities, the government had urged the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) to be cautious in their dealings in the bauxite sector.

Speaking at the Police Officer’s Conference at Eve Leary, Jagdeo said that unless there was a quick recovery in the bauxite sector, the country stands to face great difficulties. “Unless you have a quick return to global demand for bauxite, we face great difficulties and this is why when we urge, many people don’t know, but we urged the union to be cautious in the bauxite area, in the Berbice area particularly…,” he said. The Head of State noted that the RUSAL, the parent company for the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI), had been forced to shut down some of its other operations in the region. “The same company that has invested here shut down three of the Jamaica operations,” he explained, adding that “In fact, all three of the Jamaican operations; the aluminum plant was shut down, many of their plants across the world were shut down because of the reduction in global demand,” the President added.

Jagdeo said that if the company were to shut down its facilities in Berbice, about six hundred families stood to be without a source of income.

The President then criticised some of the union leaders, whom he said “fleece on these workers in these difficult times.”  In spite of this criticism, he stressed that his administration is not anti-union.

He pointed out that in Barbados there had been cases where the unions representing tourism workers did not seek increases in wages and salaries just so that they could maintain jobs. The President noted that “in many other parts of the world, people are taking a pay cut in wages just to maintain their jobs.”

Following a wage dispute in November, workers of the company engaged in industrial action. However, subsequently, several of the workers aborted the strike and resumed working with the company. Subsequently about 50 workers-including some senior members of the union were dismissed by the BCGI. The bauxite company has since indicated that they want the union to be de-recognised.

The union has since written to the Ethnic Relations Committee (ERC), the Labour Ministry and the Trade Union Recognition & Certification Board, seeking their intervention in the matter.