Barama to lay off 500 workers
In light of Barama Company Limited’s decision to end its forestry operations, an estimated 500 workers are expected to be laid off within the next three months, according to General Manager Mohindra Chand.
While the company embarks on retrenchment over the next three months, Chand said that within that time he is hoping that Barama can work out a “very supportive investment agreement” with the government. He also stressed that on the whole, Guyana is not very competitive on the value-added market and that would have to change if the government wants more from the sector.
Barama announced on Wednesday that it would not be seeking a renewal of its 25-year-old forest concession agreement with government and would be scaling back its operations.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Chand, who had just returned from a meeting with some of the company’s employees at Buck Hall, stated that approximately 500 of the company’s 800 workers would be affected in the transition.
Of the total workforce, he noted, 15% are foreigners. Earlier in the year, the company retrenched a total of 180 workers, while blaming a drastic market slowdown and waning investor confidence due to government’s protracted review of the concession agreement.
Chand said the company has already started to meet with staff to inform them of the decisions that have been made and so far they have been received very well. “The meeting [at Buck Hall] was received well and this is not a development which they were suddenly notified of. As we went along, we updated them,” he said, while adding that staff was very understanding.
He mentioned that the company is currently in talks with the government and the Guyana Forestry Commission to ensure that all legal requirements are followed. The Department of Labour is also being kept up to date as they move along, he added.
In a brief statement issued yesterday, the Ministry of Social Protection said that in light of Barama’s decision to adjust its operations in Guyana, it has invited the company along with the last known recognised trade union for discussions pertaining to the possible impact the move is likely to have on the workers’ futures.
With reference to the company’s assets, Chand explained that they have not made a decision on what will be done as they are focused on meeting all of their obligations and closing their forest operations in accordance with the legal requirements.
Value-added viability
According to Chand, it will take up to three months to shut down the forest operations and the company is expected to be finished by January 15. “… It should be finished by then or any time before and we are hoping for it to be as efficient as possible,” he said.
“Our primary interest is to ensure that we close the forest (operation) in a proper manner and once that is concluded, we are going to sit down and strategise how we are going to make the downstream viable,” Chand explained, while pointing out that they will be asking the government to consider a new agreement for valueadded products. “…We are looking at dimensional lumber, veneering and plywood,” he added.
While the company had announced that it would still continue with its
sawmilling and veneering and plywood manufacturing, Chand explained that the sustainability of those also depends on the market situation.
He noted that there are a lot of factors, including the cost of production and efficiency and availability of raw materials, which affect whether they would be able to sustain the value-added sections of the company. “Because we have a surplus in materials, we won’t feel the impact now since we are focusing on trying to sell what we have but when we go into full production of value-added, then we will know exactly where we stand,” he added.