REPRESENTATIVES of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI/ RUSAL) and the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union on Tuesday demanded an urgent intervention by government on matters affecting them.
During an impromptu meeting with Minister with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott, the small group outlined a number of issues affecting their well-being. These issues included the wrongful dismissal of workers, deteriorating occupational health and safety conditions, better wage packages, and tax waivers on overtime.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Social Protection’s Department of Labour, the RUSAL employees, both current and past, were represented by President and General-Secretary of the GB&GWU Leslie Gonsalves and Lincoln Lewis, respectively.
The union argued that the issues have been ongoing for years and the workers are extremely frustrated by what can be perceived to be inaction.
In the case of the wrongful dismissal of some 62 employees between the years 2009 and 2010, the union said RUSAL continues to refuse to engage it on the matter, but they have received a commitment from Minister Scott that the matter will be dealt with through the Department of Labour.
The workers expressed much concern for their safety and told the minister that since his last visit to the company’s worksite, there have been a number of lapses pertaining to occupational health and safety.
In fact, the workers pointed to defective vehicles being used to transport staff to the worksites daily. The use of faulty vehicles, the workers and the union contend, resulted in an accident on September 14. Several persons were injured in that accident. Upon hearing this, Minister Scott committed to having occupational health and safety workers from his department investigate the matter and the findings thereof will be provided to all concerned parties.
That aside, the issue of the negotiation of better wages and salaries was raised and according to the workers, RUSAL has selectively used the Collective Labour Agreement to discipline workers, but not to address the issue of better wages and salaries.
They complained too about the tax waiver on overtime pay and reminded that the matter is yet to be resolved. “The workers have complained that the management of RUSAL[has] continuously advised that it is the Government that continues to hold up the waiver on overtime pay,” the statement said.
However, last week the workers were told by their union that RUSAL has not signed the document to activate the waiver. “This document was shown to them, as such, they demanded that the Government take action on RUSAL on this vexed issue, for deliberately misleading them,” the Ministry of Social Protection stated.
Additionally, the failure of RUSAL to properly maintain the roadways used by the company was a sore point for both the workers and the union. This has resulted in the residents of communities near the company complaining about the deplorable conditions of the roadways.
In light of Tuesday’s discourse, Minister Scott has committed to taking swift action to address the concerns raised.
