Robust collective response required against RUSAL’s assault on workers rights

Dear Editor,

If indeed there had been any doubt about the complete and utter contempt of the Russian management of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) for the sovereignty of Guyana, the constitutional provisions that embrace the right of Guyanese workers to be members of a trade union and to take legitimate industrial action without fear of unjustified and ruthless reprisals, that can surely no longer be the case.

On Monday, the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU), the trade union representing BCGI workers learnt that the company had summarily fired sixty-one of those workers after they had exercised their democratic right to take strike action in protest over a ‘pay increase’ imposition that had not been preceded by any negotiating exercise. That kind of arbitrary highhandedness, underpinned by the total and complete exclusion of the GB&GWU from the negotiating process has always been an integral part of the management style of BCGI’s Russian management.

While the Guyana Trades Union Congress’ (GTUC) primary concern at this time is that the dismissed workers be restored to their jobs, immediately, without loss of pay and that the company be required, as obtains under the Laws of Guyana to recognize and engage the GB&GWU, we are no less concerned over the historic persistence of the Government of Guyana with its ‘policy’ of leadenfooted indifference to the sustained arrogance and abusiveness of the Russian management of the BCGI. RUSAL, we need to remind ourselves, has a significant stake in the country’s bauxite industry. That stake, however, does not extend to the sovereignty of Guyana.

Over the years, successive political administrations have sat on their hands continually, indifferent to the various and repeated instances in which the BCGI’s management has trampled on the rights of the workers and laughed in the face of the Government of Guyana, as if defying the administration to respond to its audacity.

Distressingly, the conduct of BCGI’s Russian management has, over time, reflected a contempt for high officials and institutions of the Government of Guyana. Nowhere is that more clearly reflected than in the repeated refusal of the company to respond to summonses by the Ministry of Social Protection to engage on matters pertaining to the rights of the company’s workers and the

they have a right to block and encumber. Were the M&CC and other municipalities more proactive, persons would think twice about parking old vehicles and dumping building materials and builders’ waste on parapets and thoroughfares as well as illegally extending their businesses, including scrap-iron storage, onto the government’s reserves and streets. And the problem does not only lie with private citizens. Back in 2016, residents of West Ruimveldt had complained about two old firetrucks, an old bus and other mechanical parts that had been parked along the road adjacent to the West Ruimveldt Fire Station for a long time. There have been complaints from citizens as far away as the Corentyne about obstructions on the roadway, including derelict agricultural machinery and the risk they pose to life. Last year, the Central Housing and Planning Authority said that it had issued 3,050 warnings to residents on the East Bank Demerara alone, which had to do with them desisting from dumping of construction material on roadways and parapets, desisting from blocking interlocking drains with building material, desisting from parking of storage containers on parapets, and stopping the dumping of derelict vehicles and garbage on parapets. Research going back to 2010 shows that the M&CC and the Ministry of Public Works/Public Infrastructure had issued several notices regarding

responsibilities of its management. That indeed, was the case in the instance of last Monday’s meeting. Rather than sit around the negotiating table, BCGI’s Russian management simply applied their accustomed draconian and heavy-handed approach by dismissing sixty-one workers.

Since BCGI’s operations in Guyana have been spread over political administrations led by both the current APNU+AFC coalition and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), we believe that both of these must accept responsibility for the prevailing status quo. One might add that the struggle to push back against the tyranny of the RUSAL managers at BCGI is not a partisan political struggle but a struggle for the dignity and sovereignty of our country against an oppressor. Accordingly, and whatever political differences might obtain at this time, the company’s Russian management and RUSAL as a whole must be left under no illusions regarding the unified nature of our struggle to bring an end to this tyranny.

Accordingly, the GTUC is seeking the following immediate action in response to the arbitrary and illegal dismissal of the sixty-one BCGI employees.

1. Robust and unambiguous public statements from both the Government of Guyana and the Opposition PPP/C specifically condemning the dismissal of the striking workers and calling on the management of BCGI to respect the laws of Guyana with regard to trade union membership and the rights and entitlements appended thereto.

2. This should be followed immediately by a meeting between Government and the management of BCGI to follow through on details surrounding their public call and the re-establishment of clear guidelines and understanding of RUSAL/BCGI’s need for compliance with all of Guyana’s industrial laws and practices if said company is to continue enjoying the goodwill of government and be at harmony with the Guyanese society. Details will also include: unconditional reinstatement of the dismissed workers; respecting the workers’ recognised union of choice, following the instructions issued by the Department of Labour, respect the workers’ right to strike; the need to sit at the table to negotiate with the Union the Terms of Resumption which must include no break in service, no penalties or recriminations.

3. The immediate dispatch to the BCGI manage-

ment of communication notifying them of an impending visit to the work site by a delegation comprising officials of the Ministry of Social Protection, The Ministry of Natural Resources and the GB&GWU to engage management and workers (including the dismissed workers) in meetings with a view to their reinstatement and to the formal recognition of the GB&GWU as the union representing the BCGI workers.

It is the view of the GTUC that while the role of RUSAL as an investor in the country’s bauxite industry warrants full recognition, the status of an investor does not entitle the company to ride roughshod over the laws of Guyana and the rights of the Guyanese people. The Russian managers at BCGI have repeatedly overstepped their mark and a juncture has been reached where a robust collective response from the relevant institutions and the people of Guyana is warranted.

Yours faithfully,

Coretta McDonald

President, GTUC