–owes Gov’t millions; to close Mabura operations by year-end

DEMERARA Timbers Limited (DTL) is reportedly closing down its logging operations at Mabura Hill in Region 10.

The company informed the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) of this new development on Tuesday during a meeting its management held with GAWU at its Head Office in Kingston, Georgetown.

GAWU General Secretary Seepaul Narine told Guyana Chronicle that the meeting was initiated to discuss the “wrongful” dismissal of the 11 workers who had called on the logging company to engage in good-faith negotiations with the union during a picketing exercise earlier this month.

Narine said that when GAWU requested to have the aggrieved workers reinstated, company officials provided the union with a list of the names of workers who would soon become redundant. GAWU was then verbally informed that the company will be winding up operations at the Mabura Hill location.

Oscar Hector, a contractor who has been working with DTL for more than 25 years, told Guyana Chronicle that the logging company has already terminated the contracts of approximately five contractors, including his, as it begins to scale down operations at Mabura Hill. The contractors were served with the letters of termination approximately two weeks ago.

“No reason (for the termination) was given in the letter. They just said that our contracts will be terminated with effect from November 1,” Hector informed.

Hector has provided DTL with a number of services, including the supply of labour, but his primary contract was focused on the “Green Chain”, which involves measuring and packing logs. The other contractors did felling for the company. Felling is the process of downing or cutting individual trees, an element of the task of logging.

Hector also explained that approximately two months ago, the management of DTL, without any explanation or due notice, closed down its main sawmill.

The Department of Labour, of the Ministry of Social Protection, had last December issued the company with a stern warning after it had been discovered that some workers were forced to operate a defective machine within the sawmill.

“They were experiencing a problem with a machine in the sawmill, but they were able to repair it; so that could not have resulted in the shutdown,” Hector opined.

Following closure of the sawmill, DTL reportedly hired another contractor, who now operates a portable mill. “He (the contractor) controlling all of the cutting,” Hector said.

Hector has said he is not surprised at the actions of the company, positing that it has been in the proverbial hot water for several months. Hector explained that DTL had secured an injunction from the High Court in July, 2016 to prevent the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) from closing down its operations. It was explained that when the company, which was once named Demerara Woods Limited, was privatized in 1991 and renamed Demerara Timbers Limited, it was issued with a 25-year lease agreement called Timber Sales Agreement (TSA). However, in recent years, DTL has been unable to fulfill many of the requirements under the TSA particularly in regard to production and the payment of royalties.

“Based on my understanding, DTL was required to pay the Government US$3M in addition to its royalties, but they (the company) fall down in this aspect and now owes more than $26M in royalties,” Hector explained.

As such, when the company reportedly approached the Forestry Commission for the lease to be renewed, it was met with some level of objection, hence the injunction.

When Guyana Chronicle contacted DTL Sales Manager Robert Perry, he denied that the logging company was closing down.

DTL has recently been advertising in the local newspapers a clearance sale, with wood materials being sold at extremely low prices.