WE refer to a story in the Stabroek News of Monday November 9, 2009 under the caption. ‘Strike looms at Rusal’s Aroiama Operations’.

We view this story with grave concern as it is premised on an error of such magnitude as to appear provocative.

The story claims that workers at BCGI’s Aroiama operations have threatened to go on strike if the company fails to agree to a 10 per cent wage increase, and cites a letter from the GBGWU (Guyana Bauxite and General Workers’ Union) dated 6 November 2009 in which the writer claims the Union has threatened that if the company does not agree to a 10 per cent increase across the board retroactive to 1 January 2009 all unionised workers would proceed on strike from 06:00 h this Wednesday.

This is a complete fabrication as nowhere in the letter of that date from the GBGWU is there any threat of a strike.

The author of the story must have discerned from even a cursory perusal of this letter that there was never any threat of a strike made by the Union. Indeed, Article 46 of the Collective Labour Agreement between the GBGWU and the company states thus:

“In view of the orderly procedure set forth in Article 11 of the Collective Labour Agreement, the Union agrees that they will not cause or direct any industrial action of any sort and the company agrees that they will not cause or direct any lockouts during the term of this Agreement. Further, no employee shall engage in any cessation of work or restriction of production during the term of the Agreement”.

The company and the Union are presently engaged in very sensitive negotiations which involve the issue of wage increases. However, at no point has the Union issued any such illegal ultimatum as is alleged by the writer. Indeed, one of the main purposes of the CLA quoted above is to provide a comprehensive system of dispute resolution and therefore such an ultimatum would be unlawful and a breach of the CLA.

As mentioned above, this failure to check an essential fact is such a serious breach of the most elementary principles of journalism that it is difficult to envisage any responsible journalist doing so, particularly when citing a letter the writer must have seen, and therefore lead to the almost inescapable conclusion that the writer is mischievous.

The company trusts you will public a correction or retraction of the story and give this the same prominence as the story.
SERGEY KOSTYUK
General Manager
Bauxite Company of Guyana