OFFICER in Charge of the Mabura Hill operations, Kwangsiong Chuo, and the company’s Personnel Administrative Manager, Ralph Trotman, were left out in the cold on Monday when the General Manager of Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL), Martin Ting, told the Ministry of Social Protection that many of the issues affecting workers at Mabura Hill, Region 10, were never conveyed to the Head Office in Kingston, Georgetown.After conducting a thorough inspection of the logging concession at Mabura Hill, the Ministry of Social Protection concluded on Thursday that the Chinese company has violated Sections 23, 43, 46 and 47 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Workers at Mabura Hill have been living and working under deplorable conditions. In many cases, their lives had been put at risk; but during a meeting at the Social Protection Ministry, Brickdam, the General Manager, who was accompanied by DTL Sales Manager Robert Perry, Marketing Executive Shivnand Sooklall, and Admin Executive Joan Heywood, admitted that the conditions under which the workers were living were unacceptable, but he maintained that he was unaware of many of the issues.

Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, with responsibility for Labour, Simona Broomes, led the meeting in the presence of the Ministry’s Labour Consultant Francis Carryl and Assistant Chief Labour, Occupational Safety and Health Officer Lydia Green.

Ting, who has been in Guyana for the past seven months, told the ministerial team that he was appalled upon seeing the manner in which workers were forced to live. “I said something wrong with some of the managerial staff at Mabura,” he posited.
“I told them the living conditions should be rectified; it cannot be like that,” he added while noting that a committee has been formed to address the issues of workers starting with the rehabilitation of some of the houses.

“I specifically instructed that the chairman of the committee be a Guyanese…it cannot be the Admin, because I see there is where the problem is, there has to be a different channel,” Ting further added.

Ting said it appears as though the Admin Department at Mabura has been withholding information from the Head Office on the day-to-day operation of the logging company with respect to the concerns of workers. He said he will be developing a new channel through which workers can lodge their complaints, and he noted that from all indications, they have no confidence in the Admin Department.

Upon hearing the case of Cloreen Craig, Ting said he had no clue that the accounts clerk who has been working with the company for 24 years has requested early retirement because of her ill health. Craig is on the verge of becoming visually impaired. She is required to do a corrective surgery on her eyes, but lacks the finance. Right there and then, the General Manager committed to have this problem rectified immediately.

“I wasn’t aware and I cannot tolerate that. I swear…”

With respect to 12% increase in wages and salaries that the Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union (GAWU) has been pushing for since mid-year, Ting explained that DTL, for the past five years, has offered a total of 25% increase for workers.

“Last year, they had seven per cent increase,” he posited.
“This year the company is doing bad, the work is so bad, so I asked GAWU, to bear with me,” he added, but to no avail.

According to the General Manager, over the years, GAWU has been pushing for increases for unionised workers; and as such, they have been benefiting from increases while non-unionized workers have been stuck with their old salaries.

“We got to rectify the thing…it is not fair…I have to make the thing more even,” he said.

The issue of safety was also placed high on the agenda; but Perry, who jumped to the defence of the General Manager, said it was only in June, 2015 that the company distributed safety gear to staff at the logging concession.

According to Perry, despite the efforts of the company, the workers have refused to wear the boots, helmets, gloves and safety goggles provided to them.

Ting said he had no clue that the workers were not wearing the safety gear provided. However, he promised to implement a system that ensures workers wear their safety gear before entering the concession.

But the DTL Management team was told that lack of knowledge is no excuse. It was explained that the company, whether or not the Head office was informed of the plethora of issues, is in breach of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
The department’s Labour Consultant told Ting and his team that DTL had been very disrespectful to the Ministry of Social Protection. He said that despite issuing a stern warning on Thursday, the company had, for the third time, failed to attend a planned meeting at the Ministry to address an issue placed on the table by GAWU.

“On a previous occasion, rather than coming to the meeting, the company had their lawyer write me to explain why they did not come…This is a legitimate union that has brought a legitimate complaint for a legitimate number of workers,” Carryl lamented.

He, too, alluded to the disparity between the wages paid to unionised workers and those paid to the non-unionised workers. “There is a serious disparity in the payment package for unionised workers against none unionised workers,” he declared. “Managerial staff have been complaining that they have not seen an increase in their payment package for years, there is a serious imbalance, and that cannot be healthy for any business…” Carryl declared.

Minister Broomes, who, during the meeting, underscored the importance of having a healthy relationship between employers and employees, extended a hand of partnership to the company, but warned that the company must abide by the laws of the country.

Before the end of the week, the Ministry will write DTL, informing its management of the breaches that were identified during the inspection. But ahead of the letter, Minister Broomes said, certain issues — such as the unwholesome water supplied to residents and the matter involving Cloreen Craig — must be addressed.

Additionally, the issues surrounding the moulders, who have been placed on contract after working with the company for more than 10 years; and the trainees, who have been training for three years without any supervision, must be addressed immediately.

Ting, who appeared very apologetic, committed to correcting those issues. He made it clear that it was never the intention of DTL to be disrespectful to the Government.

By Svetlana Marshall