–Min Broomes assures RUSAL staff at launch of task force to address their concerns

THE contract between RUSAL (Russian Aluminum Inc) and Guyana was signed ‘in secret’ and hence to date neither the Chief Labour Officer nor the unions representing workers have been able to peruse it.

So said Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes on the sidelines of the official launch of a task force to deal with labour relations issues between RUSAL and its Guyanese workers.

Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, after meeting RUSAL workers back in April, had announced that the government wanted to establish the said task force.

Said Broomes: “What is surprising is that the Chief Labour Officer has never seen the contract with RUSAL and Guyana. Mr. [Lincoln] Lewis (General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress) said at the time this contract was signed it was top secret. The unions have never seen the contract so the unions don’t know what is in the contract. I myself have never seen the contract.”

But with the seven-member task force now established, one of the first things to be looked at is securing the contract and examining it. “We are going to ensure that we get that contract, examine it, and ensure that what is agreed upon is being carried out; look at corporate responsibilities, all the areas,” Broomes said, adding:

“We’re going to get the contract, which will be shared widely, and we’ll take it from there.”

COMPOSITION
The task force comprises Minister Broomes as head, Minister within the Ministry of Finance Jaipaul Sharma, Region Ten Members of Parliament Jermaine Figueira and Audwin Rutherford, Trade Unionist Lincoln Lewis, Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle, and Secretary to the task force, Alieca James.

It was Cabinet which recommended the establishment of the task force, and hence, Broomes said, the members will have to report in detail what is happening.
“This is the level of seriousness we are talking about here,” she said. “Every aspect of what is happening will be examined and will be dealt with. Recommendations will not only be put forward, but you can expect actions also.”

A number of workers have since RUSAL’s troubles began expressed concern about going to work each day, not knowing whether or not they will have a job the following day, and the company not having the common courtesy of explaining to them what is happening.
According to Minister Broomes, such slackness will no longer be countenanced; the workers will have to be engaged.

“I know the concerns,” she said, “but don’t panic. We will be moving around; the task force will be meeting with the workers, starting from next week, to keep engaging them. They will be informed first-hand, every step of the way.

“What was not happening before, I don’t know. But going forward, what needs to be done will be done. I quote His Excellency that companies are welcome here, [but] they must obey our laws and treat our people right. This task force will ensure that that is happening.”

‘WE GOT YOUR BACK’
The minister said government is there to ensure that workers are protected. “The government is with them; we are here to ensure that they are protected,” she said.
“It is our responsibility as a State that even if companies crumble, we have people here; that is why we have the task force to know exactly what we need to do in case of a worst-case scenario.

“I want to say to them that the government is working in their best interest; the government is not taking it lightly, nor are we sending any message that it is well and all is over. It is something that the government has jumped upon very, very early.”
Trade unionist, Lincoln Lewis told reporters that citizens need to understand that this matter is more serious than it is being reported.

“What is happening here,” he said, “is that as a country, we need to examine what the impacts are, not only on the economy but on the people. It is for that reason the task force is necessary.

“And it may be important that we go back and examine from the time when the contracts were awarded; what we gave to them with the expectation of what they will deliver, and see whether what we have given has borne necessary rewards and look at how they have dealt with their corporate responsibility consistent with the laws.”

The Guyana Government earlier this year expressed concern that workers at the bauxite company in Berbice, 90 per cent of which is owned by RUSAL, may face repercussions as a result of the US sanctions imposed upon the company’s head, Oleg Deripaska.

The company here is located on the Berbice River between Kwakwani and Linden, with employees from those areas making up the majority of its labour force. Deripaska’s company made it on the sanctions blacklist after the U.S. Government indicated it found Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. general elections.