Facing calls to take a stand and represent workers following the firing of 60 Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) workers for striking, a team of ministers met with company executives yesterday and Minister of State Joseph Harmon emphasised that the workers must be respected and the country’s labour laws upheld.
The meeting aimed to identify ways in which the ongoing industrial strike taken by workers and their subsequent dismissal can be resolved amicably, a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency said. Following a strike last week, some 60 workers were fired from the Kwakwani mining operation of the BCGI, a Russian Aluminium (RUSAL) subsidiary, on Monday and the government has been facing increasing calls to intervene and take action.
Yesterday’s meeting included Harmon, Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman and Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with responsibility for Labour Keith Scott, who met with RUSAL’s representative in Guyana Vladimir Permyakov and Director of Alumina and Bauxite Department at RUSAL, Sergey Kostyuk.
