THE Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) was last Wednesday invited by the Ministry of Social Protection to a shared meeting with the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU). A release by the Government Information News Agency, accompanied by a picture, advised that Ministers Volda Lawrence and Keith Scott, staff of the ministry, and union representatives turned up for the meeting but the company failed to show up.

Aside from the BCGI’s management discourtesy to the Government of Guyana and GB&GWU representatives, what is at stake here for us as Guyanese is the treatment of us and our institutions. Our elders often warned that if you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything. The scenario being played out here by BCGI, who has as Labour Consultant one who had served longer than any other as Chief Labour Officer, is telling.

The BCGI has had a running dispute with the GB&GWU, which marks seven years on  29th November, in its refusal to accept the workers’ choice for representing their interest. It is presumptuous on the part of those who have been granted work permits under the Laws of Guyana to disregard the said laws that equally protect the right of Guyanese labour to be organised and represented.

The laws of Guyana, which identify who we are as a nation, people, how we live our lives and conduct our day-to-day business, are clear. Whether BCGI’s management is being advised to stomp on these sacred institutions or ignoring the advice to respect same, what is evidently clear is the continued disregard for them.

The history of Russia Aluminium (RUSAL), who is the major shareholder in the BCGI with the Government of Guyana having 10 percent, is known. Information about RUSAL’s treatment of local workers and host governments is legendary for its infamy, and can be verified on reputable search engines at the click of a mouse.

In August, the Ministry of Labour in Jamaica, where RUSAL operates, had cause to intervene, at the request of the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE). This request was made after wages negotiations that had started since November 2015 hit a snag. Within two days the ministry acted. The union has also denounced the company’s move to issue contracts to the workers without regard for the collective bargaining process.

What must be of concern to Guyanese, irrespective of whether working in the bauxite industry, know someone who does or not, is what can be called bare-faced disrespect for our laws and fellow citizens. As we stand in the face of Venezuela’s aggression and say not a blade of grass, not one carass, BCGI’s disregard for our nationhood poses a similar threat and carry similar consequences.

Compounding this disregard, after failing to attend the meeting at the ministry the company has since moved to create an association that they want the workers to join. This constitutes an imposition on the workers, whose relationship with any association in the workplace to represent their interests should be of their choosing.

Whatever informed the disrespect in 2009 and allowed for by the Government of Guyana, we as an independent people should not countenance it. Whereas during the Donald Romatar administration Minister of Labour Dr. Nanda Gopaul instituted compulsory arbitration, and the APNU+AFC parties when in opposition brought a parliamentary no-confidence motion against Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir, who served during the Bharrat Jagdeo administration, for his handling of the issue,  resolution must be had and Guyanese respected.

What needs resounding assurance is that the laws of Guyana are sacrosanct and will so be treated by all, domestic and foreign nationals. Should there be any doubt as to what action the Government of Guyana must take to ensure this, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany inThursday’s shared press conference with United States (U.S.) President Barack Obama, said it best in addressing the issue of trade and globalisation. She advised that while the world cannot go back to a closed society and globalisation is imperative, it must be done with a “human face.”

Speaking after, Obama in representing the U.S. while at the same time seeking to assure the world that U.S. Foreign Policy under a Donald Trump leadership will not threaten trade agreements, too has some choice advice. In advising that his administration’s domestic policy influenced its foreign policy, he said while the U.S. is not without failings, it has striven to govern by the rule of law, respect its citizens and people around the world, and eschew corruption, and in seeking to ensure these he has always sought to do the right thing, even though at times it may not be the popular thing to do.

There are several experiences and widespread support to draw strength from in addressing the disregard for Guyana’s laws and workers.