Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir, said the while talks between the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBGWU) and the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc are ongoing, there seems to be a conciliatory aura pervading the engagements. Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, Minister Nadir said the talks will continue and that no decisions have been taken so far. He said during meetings which commenced from last Thursday, “all sides are sounding conciliatory.”
Nadir had sent a strongly worded letter to the RUSAL-controlled BCGI about two weeks ago after the company did not turn up for a meeting hosted by the Ministry with a view to resolving the issue.
RUSAL’s grounds for skipping the meeting were that there was no collective bargaining agreement in effect.
In a letter just before the end of last year, Nadir reminded BCGI that the GBGWU was the certified bargaining unit for a large section of the company’s workforce and that the company was legally bound to engage them. He also told the company that it cannot unilaterally declare that there exists no collective bargaining agreement.
The Minister said to RUSAL that while the Government has been very patient, principled and objective, he was unprepared to tolerate from RUSAL any further disrespect of Guyana’s laws and workers.
At the first meeting on January 6, the Minister took the opportunity to reiterate the Ministry’s position to the company, that the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union is the certified bargaining agent for a large section of the company’s workforce and therefore the company is legally bound to treat with them and cannot unilaterally declare that no bargaining agreement exists.
According to a press release from the GBGWU, representatives of the union present at the meeting listened to the minister’s presentations and reiterated its position that the matter before the ministry and company is that of respecting the rights of the bauxite workers, consistent with the rule of law “which we see as the fundamental tenets in guiding the relationship.”
The union said that it expects the company to treat with it consistent with the Trade Union and Recognition Act 1997 Section 23. (1).
The union also charged that it expects the ministry to ensure the respect for the Trade Union and Recognition Act 1997 Section 23. (1) – by upholding its responsibility consistent with the labour laws.
“The Union reminded the ministry and company of the outstanding matters, which include the December 2009 dismissal of 57 workers who were engaged in strike action for increased wages and improved working conditions; the May 2009 suspension of workers who protested unsafe working conditions; and the November 2010 dismissal of workers who protested BCGI insanitary cockroach and rat- infested kitchen, and the expired foods used to prepared their meals,” the union’s release said.
According to the union, the minister made it known that the ministry desired to have bilateral engagements between the company and the union since there exists a recognition agreement between the parties, “and the failure to honour this recognition will leave him with no other alternative but to use the authority vested in him under Labour Law Chapter 98:01 to impose compulsory arbitration, which will see him listing every issue raised by the Union.”
The union said that the parties agreed to bilateral engagement as opposed to impose arbitration. It said too that it remains steadfast in ensuring a resolution to all outstanding matters, “and will not rest until justice is served for every worker, and the ministry and company adhere to the laws that inform the parties’ engagement.”