Bauxite union renews call for arbitration
GBGWU General
Secretary, Lincoln Lewis
GBGWU General Secretary, Lincoln Lewis

–to resolve RUSAL issue

GENERAL Secretary of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), Lincoln Lewis on Friday warned that “the people will react” if police turn the guns on them.
He made the observation while questioning the sudden presence of heavily-armed policemen at the Berbice River blockade being vigilantly maintained by aggrieved workers of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI).

Following clashes between the police and BCGI workers on Thursday, the Union on Friday held a press conference at its office at the Critchlow Labour College, where Lewis asserted that the police’s presence is uncalled for. “[Thursday’s] altercation with the police, workers and residents in Aroaima did not have to happen,” Lewis said, adding: “These are workers; citizens of Guyana. All they are fighting for and asking for is for the rule of law to be applied. Is that asking too much of a government?”

Lewis questioned the motive of the police’s presence, given that it has been two weeks since the workers have been peacefully maintaining the blockade, without incident, and likened the situation to instances of unrest in the country’s history, such as the 1948 Enmore Martyrs uprising; the 1999 public servants protest; and the 2012 Linden protest, all instances that resulted in the death of innocent citizens.
“Are we going to have this when all bauxite workers are doing is standing up for their rights. Are the people of Guyana going to allow this? We have to ask ourselves what is going on,” Lewis said.

Policemen clashed with
BCGI/RUSAL workers at
Ladernsville Point where
workers are blocking
the river

Workers, with the support of residents in the surrounding communities, have been maintaining a blockade across the Berbice River since the company laid off some 142 workers on January 23, to prevent the company from shipping materials and equipment from their Kurubuka mines. The company subsequently laid off 288 workers on January 30, then officially terminated the services of another 326 on February 2, and suspended operations. On Wednesday, police went into the area and dismantled the blockade, which was promptly resumed by Wednesday evening. “I understand the importance of upholding the Rule of Law,” Lewis said, “but what bothers me is when those who are elected to serve and protect demonstrate that the laws are only applicable to the working-class people, and only the poor people will suffer.”

RIOT SQUAD RUMOUR
According to Lewis, he was made to understand that the police have been mobilising a riot squad to be sent into the area. However, when contacted on Friday, Regional Commander for the area, Hugh Winter said that to the best of his knowledge, there is no such plans on the table.

“Nobody informed me about that; and if they were going in there, they would’ve informed me. I know that the situation is very much quiet there; the river is still blocked, but the situation is quiet. No confrontation or whatever the case may be,” Winter related.
Lewis did not mince words when blaming the Department of Labour for the escalation of the current situation, by not declaring a deadlock in conciliation discussions between the company and the Union over salary increases, and allowing the process to move to arbitration. “No one wants to hold RUSAL accountable for its actions from since they came here,” Lewis said.

Since the firing of the workers, the Department has been lobbying the company to rehire the workers, while the Union’s focus has been on the company agreeing to deal with an increase in salary for the workers, and paying them retroactively. Lewis believes the call for reemployment is futile, alleging that the company appears already on a path to completely shut down its Guyana operations and ship out as much as they can before they do so.

“They are going there asking RUSAL to reemploy these people when RUSAL carry away all the mining equipment,” Lewis said. “If the people done carry away the mining equipment,” he reasoned, “how can we believe any word that they are going to reemploy these people?”
It has been almost one year since the company and the Union agreed to begin negotiations over an increase in wages for workers, following the calling off of a six-week strike action, and the rehiring of some 91 workers that the company had fired as a result.

In August 2019, the Union wrote Labour, requesting conciliation, as is catered for in the collective bargaining process. When conciliation fails, the next step is arbitration, whereby the issue at hand is resolved by an independent tribunal, and both parties being bound to whatever is decided. RUSAL has a 90 per cent ownership of BCGI, with the government of Guyana owning the other 10 per cent through the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). Last year, BCGI Executive Vladimir Permyakov made the damning declaration that in the 15 years the company has been operating in the country, it has not been making enough profit to pay its workers improved salaries.

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