Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle yesterday said the Department of Labour of the Ministry of Social Protection is awaiting the response of the management of RUSAL’s Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) on two proposals that were presented at a meeting yesterday on the current industrial action at the company’s Kwakwani mining operation.
Up to late yesterday afternoon, the situation escalated as residents and workers blocked the access road to the mines at Kwakwani and said that they were calling on the Department of Labour to facilitate discussions that will result into a swift conclusion of the matter. They also called on President David Granger to address the issue.
BCGI on Monday fired 61 workers (one has since been reinstated) following a strike that began last Friday. The company was also a no-show at a meeting with the Labour Department due to the presence of the head of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) Lincoln Lewis.
BCGI Personnel Officer Mikhail Krupenin and RUSAL representative Vladimir Permyakov, however, met with the Department of Labour yesterday.
The meeting commenced at 10 am and concluded sometime after midday. According to Ogle, who was hesitant to speak to the media, the company would have to consider the proposals put to it. “We are still engaging because the union has been left out,” he added.
Ogle would not go into details about the meeting but noted that two executives from BCGI’s parent company, RUSAL, are also expected meet with the Labour Department for further discussion.
“…As I said to you, we are engaging with them… The matter is here, so give us the opportunity to resolve. Nobody would be happy with 60 persons dismissed. We have some simultaneous actions we are taking and we are waiting for them to give us a feedback. We are waiting on a response,” he added.
As it relates to the union, Permyakov told reporters yesterday that the BCGI does not recognise the GB&GWU and has no relation to them.
“It happened before I came to Guyana for work. There was an alternative poll. Of course, the company created the best conditions for workers to go and vote. This poll took place on October 3, 2017. It was won by the GB&GWU but only a few weeks after we got information that [a] judge in the case of FITUG against the Trade Union Recognition Certificate Board says there was some breaches and it should be considered null and void,” he said.
However, Ogle said yesterday that the union is recognised as the workers’ representative by the ministry.
‘No promises’
When he was questioned on the prospects of rehiring the terminated workers, Permyakov said he wanted to be sincere and not to promise honey and golden rivers and that he “feels very sorry that the situation happened.” Despite being questioned several times on the possibility of the workers returning, he could offer no guarantee. “We were open [to having them back] on Friday, on Saturday and Sunday. We spoke many times. They were asked a few times, many times,” he added.
Permyakov also said that the company feels the same as the Department of Labour and is upset at the situation. While the terminated workers are still at the mines, he said that he thinks they will leave.
Permyakov related that when the strike started, managers, including the Managing Director and personnel manager, met with the workers and “sincerely, openly expressed their wish for workers to go back to work.”
He said this was done a few times but the workers refused to return to work, even though they were told that the management was willing to forget about them missing hours of work.
“They were given opportunity to resume their work during the whole day of Friday. They didn’t do so. Maybe it was [a] wrong decision and now we are speaking to you on Tuesday. It means this group of workers, now 60 people, they are not working for the fifth day and staying at the mine site,” Permyakov said, while noting that the company hopes that it can find a solution and compromise to the unfortunate situation soon since the strike actions negatively affect it.
‘A big threat’
Permyakov explained that since heavy-duty equipment is being used, if one shift does not complete its work, the whole production or mining process can become compromised and result in dangerous situations. “It’s usual practice, not only in the mining industry, that if persons are absent from the work place during certain periods of time, in some companies it’s very strict… you can be disciplined. But it’s five days already,” he said, while pointing out that the workers have those stipulations documented in their contracts. He could not provide clarity on the specific clauses, which would contradict the laws of Guyana, which give workers the freedom to strike.
“It’s a question of occupational safety of the team… it represents a big threat of casualty or injuries and that’s why 60 people not working is a breach of the technological chain and occupational safety,” he added.
Following media reports of Permyakov’s comments, the GB&GWU said in a statement yesterday that the management’s claim that workers can be terminated because they signed a contract that they be will dismissed if they refuse to work “is blatant nonsense!”
“Article 147 (2) of the Guyana Constitution protects the right to strike. Anything outside of the Constitution that infringes the rights of the employee is a violation. The fact BCGI management can go to the ministerial body with such utter nonsense demonstrates the height of RUSAL’s eye-pass,” it noted in a statement.
The GB&GWU also said the Collective Labour Agreement will require that management engages the bona fide representative of the employees on any action that seeks to interrupt their contract for service, whether through termination or re-deployment following consultation, negotiations and agreement between the employer and the GB&GWU. “Based on engagement, management and union will look for ways and means of addressing any economic hardship that affects the company’s sustainability and can militate against maintaining the workforce and the conditions of work. This will require intense discussions, negotiations on any drastic change in conditions of employment. If as the company is projecting that re-deployment is necessary it also requires consultation, negotiation and agreement with the Union to determine conditions of severance such as benefit, pay, etc,” it further noted.
The union further said the effrontery of RUSAL/BCGI knows no limit and urged that the people of Guyana show them that they will not be allowed to get away with this any longer. “We must say collectively as a united nation that enough is enough! Bauxite does not spoil. The Russian management must shape up or ship out for Guyana existed and its bauxite was exploited before RUSAL/BCGI and it will continue without them,” it added, while noting that it will hold the government and opposition equally accountable for the situation.
The workers began striking after the imposition of a 1% increase in wages, which they had claimed was unfair. However, Permyakov pointed out that over the last five years there has been a 15% increase in wages and salaries, which no one mentions.
He also explained that the company uses a special procedure that included calculating an indexation rate based on the inflation rate for the country. After this calculation, they arrived at 0.9% but rounded it off to 1%. The production cost, he said, also plays a major factor in the calculation and currently it has to expend an enormous amount of resources since the bauxite is very deep underground.
Despite the current situation, he said that he was satisfied with their meeting with the team from the Department and emphasised that he hopes that it progresses positively.
