Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman on Saturday visited workers of Russian Aluminium (RUSAL) who continue strike action along the Berbice River and urged a resolution of the now almost one-month long dispute.
“I did pay a visit to RUSAL workers who are at the Berbice River protesting…I thought it was important for me as the Minister of Natural Resources to actually see the condition because I have seen photographs sent to me by various residents in the community and the company, of the barricade across the river,” Trotman was quoted as saying in a Department of Public Information (DPI) news release.
The workers have blocked the Berbice River, preventing the company’s barges from transporting bauxite. This began in mid-February, following the imposition of a unilateral one per cent increase in wages by RUSAL-owned Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI), along with other unaddressed issues, including BCGI’s unwillingness to recognise the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) as the workers’ bargaining agent.
