…bauxite union to up ante against RUSAL if any breach in overtime pact

THE Guyana Bauxite Union and General Workers’ Union (GB&GWU) has issued a strong warning to the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI— a subsidiary of Russian Aluminum (RUSAL)), saying that it would not ‘fool around’ and that it will ‘up the ante’ if workers’ rights are violated.

The bauxite union’s General-Secretary, Lincoln Lewis, said that crimes committed in the past will not be tolerated. “There will be no fooling around,” Lewis told the Guyana Chronicle shortly after a meeting with Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with responsibility for Labour Keith Scott and the Chief Labour Officer (CLO) Charles Ogle on Thursday.

Accompanied by the union’s President Leslie Gonsalves, and Trade Unionists Emilton McCalmont and Wayne Coppin, the general-secretary met with the labour officials one day after BCGI signed on to the tax-free overtime agreement – an agreement it had refused to sign more than a year ago. It was in October 2016 that a three-party Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was formulated for the provision of tax-free overtime for bauxite workers, but while the government and the union signed that agreement, RUSAL withheld its signature on the basis that it did not support the workers’ representative–the Guyana Bauxite Union and General Workers’ Union (GB&GWU).

Though the agreement was signed by the company on Wednesday, it was done in the absence of the workers’ representative – a move that was deemed upsetting by the union. The GB&GWU President told Minister Scott that RUSAL should not be allowed to act in isolation and must recognise that GB&GWU is the workers’ representative. “There must not be any signal or any sign that gives them the impression that they are preferred, that they can talk to the minister that they can talk to the chief labour officer in the absence of the union,” Gonsalves said, while reinforcing that the union should have been present.
End results

Minister Scott, from the outset, said it was not about where or who were present when the agreement was signed, but that it was signed. “What we are dealing with is the end results not necessarily the manner of how we got there,” the Labour Minister said. He said the ministry was interested in a peaceful resolution and is pleased to have the agreement in effect. He made it clear that it was not necessary for the union to be present, since its signature was already affixed on the document. Gonsalves, in no uncertain terms, said the people will judge the minister based on his actions. “You as Keith Scott while you stand as a minister the footprints you leave it will either speak for you or against you,” the GTUC President said, while warning the minister not to underestimate RUSAL.

In response, Minister Scott boasted that he has been gaining desirable results. “When we took over in 2015 a new era of industrial relations began,” he said, while pointing out that the Department of Labour has been meeting consistently with the union and company. In addition to refusing to sign the MoU back in October 2016, the RUSAL through its subsidiary BCGI has been non-responsive to the trade union. Just recently, scores of BCGI workers signed a letter addressed to the management, which had called for their benefits to be made payable November 30th or they would proceed on strike action. To date, the company has not responded. Lewis said it is his belief that the Ministry of Social Protection with responsibility of Labour has a responsibility to avert industrial action.

Minister Scott said the government is not going to carry out the union’s fight, positing that there are avenues that can be taken by the union to ‘force the hands’ of the company to cooperate. The government, he emphasised, will remain the arbiter in the process and will remain objective. “If they don’t reply to your letter you are challenged to find ways and means of making them engage you in a discussion.

It is not appropriate for the government to be seen [as] carrying the fight on your behalf,” Minister Scott explained.
He stressed that the union must exhaust all the options in treating with RUSAL. “What prevent you from having a demonstration…if they haven’t answered you there are options that you must explore,” Scott told the GB&GWU.

Lewis in response placed the ministry on notice that if RUSAL continues be non-responsive to the union, it will take action. “We expect RUSAL as a management that in managing BCGI to make sure that it adheres to the rules, laws, the time-honoured principles, the ILO Convention and industrial relations practices in this country. If you go outside the law, as you did in the past, we will not countenance it, we are going to up the ante,” Lewis warned.

Though the country has a long way to go in resolving the issues between RUSAL and the union, Lewis said this government has been making progress. He said the agreement is a small step in the right direction. “They have been coming over more strident…I am saying to you where we are right now we are more encouraged than where we were eight years ago. We have come a far way. And over the last two years, the pressure has been creeping up,” Lewis said.

Lewis said the union will continue the fight, emphasising that the bauxite company must recognise and respect the rules and laws of this country. “The agreement represents just a little step in coming to the table. We are not yet at the table. We have to start with respecting the Collective Labour Agreement (CLA),” he posited, while underscoring the importance of having a new CLA in place to address the issues of wages and salaries and better conditions for workers. “Until those things are done, we cannot say that we are even on the road to be out of the woods,” he said. The chief labour officer in bringing the meeting to a close urged the union to stay focused.