A large group of the workers converged at the Linden/Georgetown minibus park where a bus was expected to collect the workers who were told that the company no longer recognizes the union and they were to report for duty. The workers said the information was conveyed by the company’s Personnel Officer Leroy Saul.
Stabroek News understands that the bus left with only three workers since the others said they would not cooperate with the company until their requests are honoured. They said the de-recognizing of their union representative, the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), was a total disregard for the collective labour agreement and the laws of Guyana.
The prolonged battle between the union and the company started after workers began industrial action two weeks ago, calling for a 10% wage increase. In an attempt to address the issue the company had put forward three options to the workers through their union. Option one, which was selected by the workers and supported by their union, stated that the company would pay a 10% increase across the board retroactive to January 2009 and reduce the workforce by 14%, which amounted to 75 workers.
On November 22, when workers commenced their protest action, several of them were issued letters of suspension and as negotiations continued the union had appealed to the company to withdraw letters of suspension as part of the terms of resumption. This process fell through.
Yesterday workers said that had the company agreed to this term they would have been willing to return to their jobs and allow the union and the company to move forward with negotiations for a wage increase.
“It doesn’t seem that management of Rusal really wants to end this impasse because we would have been back at work already and the wheels would have been turning,” one employee contended. “It is obvious that this present manager has some personal grievances with the leaders of our union and that is the whole problem. He is always attacking certain leaders of this union.”
Another said that since Rusal took over the operations, there were four strikes. This first one lasted one day under a previous manager.
“Check the records and you would see that the other three strikes were prolonged because this manager they got here has absolutely no regards for workers, the union or even the government of this country,” the employee said. “This was very noticeable when he decided to take the laws of this country into his own hands and to write this union and say that they no longer recognize them.”
Asked to clarify the issue of them accepting option one and the union disagreeing to the part of that option which indicates that 75 workers would be retrenched, workers said that to the best of their knowledge, wage increases and terminations were dealt with as separate issues.
“We want them to go according to the collective labour agreement; pay us and then address retrenchment, hiring or firing,” the workers said. “We have absolutely no problem with 75 persons being sent home. If they want, 175 can go too we have had enough at this point.”
According to workers since the new management took over the operations they have never held meetings with the workers. “The first time this management decided to meet with us was after we choose option one and they couldn’t believe that we did that. That was the very first time they actually sat with us as management to workers,” the employees said. “What was most disturbing too was that they twisted their story every time they met with different departments and we have tapes to prove this.”
Workers said they feel alone in the wilderness since no senior member of the government has thought it fit to summon them to a meeting to discuss the impasse. “We are here and are waiting for someone from the government to come talk with us because we are holding fast to our decision no money no work,” they stated.
Acting General Secretary of the union Leslie Gonsalves who was on site at yesterday’s protest declined to comment and advised that the media speak directly to the workers.
“Let the workers speak for themselves and you’ll see it’s not the union putting anything to them but rather it’s the workers making their demands and we are just following through with those actions,” Gonsalves stated.
