–to discuss way forward in wake of US sanctions
GOVERNMENT will be meeting with workers of both the Bauxite Company of Guyana (BCGI), a subsidiary of the Russian aluminium firm RUSAL, and German carrier, Oldendorff, in the new week to discuss the impact US sanctions will have on both companies’ operations here.
Meetings are also slated to be held with representatives of the People’s United and General Workers Union (PUGWU) and Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBGWU), bargaining agents for employees of Oldendorff and RUSAL, respectively.
The announcement of the proposed meetings comes in the wake of concerns over the matter, raised by workers attached to the two companies.
As things stand right now, sources say, the situation can best be described as “fluid”, as the operations of both companies will continue as per normal until June 5, 2018.
But in the event that the sanctions are not lifted or modified by said June 5, Oldendorff will be legally obliged to terminate its services.
Ministers of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman and Simona Broomes, along with Members of Parliament Audwin Rutherford and Jermain Figueira, have already met with BCGI and Oldendorff officials to assess the impact the sanctions will have on RUSAL Guyana’s bauxite mining operations on the Upper Berbice River, and in the main, on the hundreds of workers in their employ.
According to a statement issued by the Department of Public Information (DPI), word is that senior officials in Europe are engaged in daily talks to mitigate whatever impacts there are or will be, and to ensure that information is communicated as soon as is available.
CONTINUOUS ENGAGEMENT
Both BCGI and Oldendorff have pledged to continue engaging their workers while respecting the labour laws of Guyana when handling their issues. They have also indicated their willingness to accept government’s support in whatever way possible.
The ministers and MPs reportedly grilled the officials about their sharing of information with employees, and stressed the high value that government places on keeping the workers employed to avoid the social impact to the people of Region 10.
Meanwhile, many of RUSAL’s workers are now looking at a glass half-empty following Oldendorff’s decision to cut ties with their employer, in compliance with US sanctions on Russian industrialist, Oleg Deripaska.
On Friday, the Guyana Chronicle spoke with three RUSAL workers who have all expressed anger that their superiors continue to keep them in the dark about the latest developments. And with the bauxite mines out of operation as a result of limited fuel since earlier in the week, they say, the situation seems even more grim and frightening.
One worker speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Oldendorff’s decision will definitely stymie RUSAL’s operations and that while systems can be put in place for a substitute transhipment company, this will not be done overnight.
“What will happen! The mother company done in limbo, and now Oldendorff pull out! I am very scared; the workers are scared about these latest developments,” the man said as he prepared for the night shift. Efforts to contact Rusal management to get their take on the matter continue to prove futile.
WILL ‘FULLY COMPLY’
According to Reuters, Oldendorff, which has a large fleet of dry-bulk cargo ships, said in a statement that it will “fully comply with U.S. sanctions, and therefore will be winding up its business in Guyana in a timely manner,” but declined to provide any further details.
While Oldendorff is an international company providing transhipment services in Ukraine, Ireland and the United States, its Guyana company, which is based in Berbice, has in its employ approximately 200 workers.
According to reports, the company did not engage PUGWU on the matter, and union representatives will be formally engaging the company concerning the fate of the workers.
This totals approximately 700 workers both from RUSAL and Oldendorff whose jobs are on the line following these recent developments.
RUSAL Kwakwani workers had told the Guyana Chronicle that fuel was expected there by Friday, but unto 17:00h, there was nothing. Meanwhile, every other operation at the company’s Aoriama location was going on as per normal.
“It is not good coming to work and not knowing if tomorrow you are out of a job,” one worker said, adding:
“I’m saying it is just respectful to meet with us and let us know what is going on; let us know what is your next move.”
A BETTER GRASP
Meanwhile, Regional Vice-Chairman for Region 10, Elroy Adolph said that he attempted to meet with RUSAL officials to get a better understanding of the situation.
According to a Reuters report, a number of RUSAL traders and customers have stopped buying its products, citing the sanction’s risk, and RUSAL apparent response was to dramatically scale back its shipments for export.
It’s owner, Oleg Deripaska was included on a U.S. sanctions blacklist this month, leading to anxiety among many of its customers, suppliers and creditors who fear that they, too, could be hit by sanctions through association with the company.
The report also mentioned that RUSAL is encountering problems at the other end of its production cycle, too, with the sanctions taking a toll on the overseas operations that supply it with the raw materials it uses to produce metal.
Rio Tinto, the Australian-British firm which supplies bauxite to some of RUSAL’s refineries and buys refined alumina, said it will declare a force majeure on some contracts, thereby showing the immediate impact the sanctions are having on RUSAL’s supply chain.
Completing the triple whammy of problems besieging RUSAL, holders of the company’s debts are also growing restive.
RUSAL’s dollar bonds slumped after the sanctions were imposed, and the company warned it could be in technical default because banks, trading platforms and clearing agents refuse to handle transactions linked to the issuer.
Since then, the world’s two biggest container lines, Denmark’s Maersk and Switzerland’s MSC, have suspended trade with sanctions-hit Russian entities.
