RUSAL blocking all attempts at peaceful resolutions – Lincoln Lewis
GBGWU General Secretary, Lincoln Lewis
GBGWU General Secretary, Lincoln Lewis

GENERAL Secretary of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBGWU), Lincoln Lewis, has accused the Russian-owned Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI) of blocking all of the union’s attempts to resolve the current industrial relations impasse peacefully.
Though the company continues to emphasize its willingness to rehire the laid-off workers, the rehiring constitutes just one out of three demands that the Union is adamant need to be addressed collectively, for fear that if issues are addressed in parts, they will remain unattended, as has been the case in the past. Lewis said too that the issue stems from more than just the blockage of the river by the bauxite workers.
Workers blocked the river subsequent to the company laying off 142 workers on January

23. The company laid off another 146 workers on January 30.  The blockage prevented the company from transporting the bauxite from its Kurubuka Mines in Region 10.
According to the union official, the company is refusing to address the other two issues, continuing to place focus on the unblocking of the river. Following a Department of Labour meeting on Friday, BCGI Executive, Vladimir Permyakov, restated the company’s position on rehiring the workers once the river is unblocked; he likened the situation to being “with a gun to your head”.

“This opportunity is taken to remind Permyakov it is often through extreme vigilance change comes. Changes in the world don’t always come from talking to people across the table alone, but change comes in many instances when force was matched equally with force. Workers tried all measure of peaceful conflict resolution and they are being blocked from this by RUSAL,” Lewis said in a statement.

Lewis further stated that: “He thinks the company cannot negotiate ‘with a gun to your head’, the reality is there are times in the world when nothing has been resolved unless people stand on firm ground to make changes. Guyana too has a proud history and legacy of struggles and none will take from us what we took hundreds of years to achieve, i.e. human rights and a nation state.”

BCGI’s representative, Vladimir Permyakov

“RUSAL has successfully, over the years by some measure, rendered the Department of Labour ineffective in dealing with them,” Lewis said.
Antagonistic relations between the employees and the company again came to a boil in February 2019, when the company initially fired 60 workers and subsequently 31 more when the employees commenced strike action over an arbitrarily imposed one per cent salary increase.

The strike lasted for a month, ending with a small victory for the workers with all the workers being reinstated and the company agreeing to recognise the workers’ union.
“GB&GWU is forced to recognise the actions of the frustrated persons to block the river as an act of desperation to bring about social justice when all legal and procedural avenues have been stymied by inaction, foot-dragging and misrepresentation of advice on best practices,” Lewis said.

The company says that the blockage of the river is illegal, and has called on the government to see it as such. Lewis said the company is choosing to conveniently cherry-pick laws.

“While RUSAL is not prepared to honour the Laws of Guyana, they are prepared to turn the Government of Guyana against the workers of Guyana,” Lewis said. He further added that: “Since the company now finds it convenient to speak about the Laws of Guyana regarding Guyana national waters, we take this opportunity to remind them that the Constitution of Guyana also speaks about the sovereignty of our nation and the Laws of Guyana which they have been in violation of for over a decade.”

In addition to rehiring the laid-off workers, the Union is also asking that the company address compensation for two workers who suffered electric shock while on duty in December; and for discussions on wages and salaries to progress to arbitration.
“Workers are prepared to return to work under these conditions which were communicated to the company,” Lewis said.

With almost a year elapsing since the company and Union agreed to work on an agreement for wages and salaries and still making no progress, Lewis stressed that the Union is steadfast in its call for the discussions to move to arbitration.
“GBGWU calls for arbitration. Now! GBGWU calls for declaration of an impasse to be followed immediately by arbitration. The Union calls also on the Guyanese community, our trade union comrades and the media to rally around bauxite workers in exposing and fighting the injustices meted out to them,” Lewis said.

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