Members of the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU) yesterday picketed the office of Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir as they continue to call for him to intervene in the dispute between the union and the Bauxite Company Guyana Inc (BGCI).
Union members were also joined by WPA Executive Member Desmond Trotman, Freddie Kissoon and Mark Benschop.
The dispute between the company and the union has been ongoing for over two months.
The union said that inspite of their appeals it is yet to receive a proper response from the Labour Minister and the Chief Labour Officer Yoganand Persaud.
The GB&GWU, in a release, said efforts to have the matter addressed by the Trade Union Recognition & Certification Board have so far not yielded any positive results.
The union noted that on January 12, it made a presentation to the Trade Union Recognition & Certification Board seeking its “impartial intervention in keeping with the Laws of Guyana Chapter 98:07 which entrenches the right of GB&GWU as the recognised union and to bargain on behalf of the workers”. It noted that it is yet to see any action taken in this regard.
Further, the union also complained about the actions of the Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) Bishop Juan Edghill who they say has acted improperly in the dispute. The union had written to the ERC asking them to hold a public inquiry into discrimination meted out against BCGI employees and the GB&GWU based on race and political geography.
The union says that while its awaits a response from the ERC’s Chief Executive Officer, Yvonne Langevine, “for the modalities and scheduled timing to commence a public inquiry that is ‘transparent and impartial’ the Chairman, Juan Edghill, has in the meanwhile visited the mines and interviewed workers.”
According to the union executives, they were informed by its membership that they had been asked if there is discrimination and told that the strike was illegal. “The union sees Mr. Edghill’s action as operating outside his scope and legal responsibility since the legality/illegality of a strike is not within the ERC’s mandate”, the release said.
It further noted that “the complaint was made by the Union, not the workers, and as such Mr. Edghill should be respectful of the procedures and principles of engagement in such relationship”, the union said.
The union called on the ERC to address its complaint with the seriousness and immediacy it deserves and stated that it expects the ERC, as an independent body, to carry out its constitutional mandate.
Meanwhile, the union expressed its appreciation for the various outpourings of solidarity it received, “locally, regionally and internationally”. The GB&GWU said that the “struggle continues” and said that “it will take actions within the ambit of the laws to ensure the workers get their due respect.”
