Gov’t expects amicable resolution to RUSAL situation
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman

MINISTER of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, last Thursday, said that “all of government expect a sensible, mature and amicable resolution to the current impasse” between RUSAL subsidiary, Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI), and its Guyanese employees.

This came even as Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said that it was indicated to him by Russian Ambassador to Guyana, Alexander Kurmaz, that RUSAL, a Russian company, does not appear to be shutting down its Guyana operations, when the situation was also discussed at a recent meeting between the two.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

RUSAL, on February 2, terminated 326 employees and suspended operations at its Kurubuka Mines in the Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice Region, the employees have been maintaining a blockade across a section of the Berbice River which prevents the company from shipping any material or equipment from the mines.

Minister Trotman spoke on the situation on Thursday, when he spoke at the opening ceremony of another bauxite company, the Guyana Industrial Minerals (GINMIN), a subsidiary of American mining company, First Bauxite (FBX).

“Even as we are high in celebration, workers of BCGI are on the breadline and uncertain about their future. I reiterate our commitment and resolve to work with the company, the workers and their representatives, to bring this sordid saga to an end,” Trotman commented.

BCGI has been in Guyana since 2006, with the Guyana Government having a 10 per cent stake in BCGI and RUSAL owning the other 90 per cent. The 10 per cent shares are said to be controlled by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), which is said to be in charge of collecting dividends paid from the shares.

However it is unclear how much, if any, dividends has been paid over by the Russian company over the years. Calls made to Head of NICIL, Colvin Heath-London, continue to prove futile. Issues between the company and the employees have been a longstanding one, dating as far back as 2009, when the company terminated over 50 workers and de-recognised the employees’ trade union – the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union.
The situation was agitated ignited in February 2019, when the employees began strike action over an arbitrary salary increase. This issue was resolved, however in January 2020, when the company laid off 142 workers, things once again boiled over. Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Newell Dennison, said he would not be commenting on the issue, as it is a labour matter. “Our role is regulator at the technical level and a lot of those issues are not really in that domain. I am not going to comment on RUSAL at all. RUSAL is in a very delicate state and I don’t want to be seen as contributing to anything that would destabilise where they are right now,” was all that Dennison said he would offer.

Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally

He did not speak on the company’s operations, which has been suspended. Amidst the revelation that the company shipped several pieces of machinery out of Guyana, employees have speculated that the company is looking to shut down its operations completely.
Prime Minister Nagamootoo, however, said that does not appear to be the case, based on what was said to him by Kurmaz. “From what he said, although he’s saying it’s a private company and [he] cannot speak for the company, you get the message very clearly that they’re not pulling out. They may appear to do so but from their official statement that they made in Moscow, they’re not pulling out. So we will continue to explore all avenues to have this matter discussed, have the issue of the severance pay settled and other issues that may arise to the satisfaction of the workers,” the PM said last Thursday.
The company said that it had already paid severance and other benefits to the 326 terminated workers.

Two weeks ago the Department of Labour said that it would be writing the company requesting a spreadsheet with a breakdown of the benefits to verify that the amounts paid to employees were what they were entitled to. Calls on Friday to Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, for an update on that situation proved futile.

The DoL continued to lobby for the rehiring of the workers, however, the company did not commit, and would only say that they would consult their Russian principals before coming to decision. Last week, Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, had said that the department had begun looking at the spreadsheet but noted that no timeline had been given to the company for a response on resumption of operations. The minister last met with the company on February 2. Nonetheless the minister had said that she is awaiting a response from the company before further action on the situation. “Let us hear what RUSAL has to say first, it’s a process and we need to hear what RUSAL has to say, meanwhile we are not giving up to the workers and the workers understand that,” Ally had said.

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