“I don’t have a job and I can’t get a job. I’m heading into my seventh year of being blacklisted,” 54-year-old Wayne Coppin told Stabroek News yesterday. As a certified mechanic and utilities operator who is able to both operate and maintain machines and has over 30 years of experience Coppin should’ve been able to easily take care of his seven children instead he depends on his overseas-based family to help support his daughter who attends the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA).
“If not for family outside she would’ve had to drop out cuz I ain’t earn one dollar the whole of last year,” he said.
Coppin’s story was repeated with little variation by 14 men, who in the company of their union representative had a meeting with Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes yesterday. They are among the 57 workers who were dismissed by the Rusal-operated Bauxite Company Guyana Inc (BCGI) in December 2009, after they engaged in strike action for increased wages and improved working conditions.
Their dismissal followed the suspension in May 2009 of workers who protested against unsafe working conditions and it was followed in November 2010 by the dismissal of several workers who protested over insanitary conditions in the company’s kitchen and the use of expired food items used to prepare their meals.
Most recently, on January 27, this year, three workers who refused to operate a “defective excavator” were sent home without pay until further notice.
According to the letter received by one of the men, “Because of repeated reluctance by you and the two others, also concerns raised about your health, management has acceded to your fear and decided to let you remain off the job without pay until further notice.” The letter is signed by an Igor Tolpykin.
As these infractions mount the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBGWU) which has found and won the right to represent these workers is losing patience with the new government’s seeming “inability” to satisfactorily curb the abuses of Rusal.
“Rusal is a Russian company, but BCGI is a company owned jointly by Rusal and the Government of Guyana and when they treat workers with contempt they are showing contempt for all the citizens and the government…,” Charles Sampson, representative of GBGWU declared at the meeting between the workers and Minister Broomes. “The previous government failed to act. This government must act,’ he added.
Broomes explained that the matter was referred to her by Minister of Natural Resources Rafael Trotman after the workers approached him.
Referencing her responsibilities within the Mining and Forestry industries, Broomes promised the workers that her ministry will engage the company within a day to immediately begin addressing the matter.
The intervention, she said, will follow the vein of establishing standards to govern working conditions of workers throughout the industry so that situations like this will be a thing of the past.
Speaking about the particular issue brought before her yesterday, Broomes stressed that a meeting will be arranged between “the union and company along with the ministers so that a resolution could be reached.”
Fighting tears, Coppin told Stabroek News that despite all he has been through he is still fighting for workers’ rights to be respected.
“Worker’s rights must be respected. BCGI employs men and women, not machines. If something doesn’t please workers, they have a right to talk about it. The companies that are coming now you can’t say anything. The only thing is if they say ‘jump’ you must ask how high. Workers are suffering and the previous government did nothing,” he said.
Asked if he now had hope that there would be a solution, given the assurances offered by Broomes, Coppin was hesitant.
“I suppose there is a little hope. The race has started but we have to wait and see if it will be finished or abandoned again,” he said.
