The Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU) has strongly denied a Department of Public Information (DPI) release stating that the union had a meeting with Minister Keith Scott on the recent layoffs by BCGI.
In a GB&GWU release, the union referenced a DPI release dated 24th January 2020 captioned “Labour Dept working to have Rusal workers reinstated,” and made it clear that that it had no such meeting with Minister Scott and “is dumbfounded at this deceptive claim clearly attributed to the Minister in the DPI release.”
The union went on to state that “Without fear of contradiction…”, it wished to let it be publically known that though a meeting was held on Thursday 23rd January with representatives of Labour, the GB&GWU and management of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI), which was chaired by Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle of the Department of Labour, “Minister Scott did not even have an invisible presence that was felt. He did not even make a brief entrance.”
Even if, the union argued, the DPI report is accurate in stating Minister Scott “disclosed that he along with Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, met with representatives [of the Union and Management at that meeting] on Thursday” then the Minister is involved in “serious” misrepresentations that raises questions “as to his trustworthiness and motive.”
Scott could not be contacted yesterday for comment.
According to the GB&GWU, this episode is not the first incident of deception and mistrust around the issues of labour in particular those relating to bauxite workers that have been experienced by the union with Minister Scott and his department.
As far as the GB&GWU is concerned, of all the incidents they have experienced, this is “the most blatant and disreputable.” The union noted that the said claim can be easily disproved by those who were in attendance as well as perusing the register of attendance.
The GB&GWU also stated it wishes to publicly declare “that it has lost all confidence in Minister Scott’s management of this labour dispute.”
In light of this matter, the union is calling on the Government of Guyana through the Department of Labour to declare a deadlock on further negotiations between BCGI and GB&GWU. This it says, will allow it the opportunity to request arbitration proceedings be put in place as prescribed under the Grievance Procedure by the two parties. It added, “Minister Scott has constantly resisted bringing closure to this issue at conciliation preferring to have it languishing, whilst misleading the senior Minister, and his government and now the people of Guyana.”
The union pointed out that the “integrity and commitment” brought to the GB&GWU labour dispute and that of its negotiators/executives should have informed Minister Scott that it would not be party to his deception of the workforce it represents, the public whom it respects and government to which he is answerable.
The GB&GWU disclosed that in the more than ten years that this labour issue has dragged on, it is appropriate to say that outside of the progress gained mainly last year through the “stern grit” of Minister Amna Ally in bringing the management of BCGI to the bargaining table, “no other meaningful achievements have been made under Minister Scott’s sole oversight.”
In a final expression of its umbrage, the union in its release stated its “strong” view that Scott has not shown that he has the “capacity, political, experiential, or labour driven perspectives to successfully manage the department he leads. He has certainly not in the case of the bauxite and gold workers, demonstrated ministerial trustworthiness.”
