DAYS into the ongoing industrial fallout over the sacking of workers, Russian-owned Bauxite Company, RUSAL has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Social Protection, laying out conditions for the normalisation of the operation of the entity.

Government was called in to quell the situation because the company and Guyana Bauxite and General Workers’ Union (GB&GWU) have been at odds for more than a week, after RUSAL declared that it has not been making profits in recent years and will be closing sections of its operations, while laying off 30 workers to add to the 61 it had previously fired.

Junior Minister of Social Protection, Keith Scott, said the proposals were received but they have to be reviewed by his senior, Minister Amna Ally, before given to the union. “We will spend the day reviewing it before we decide on a way forward,” said Scott during a telephone interview on Tuesday.

On Monday RUSAL was scheduled to meet with the union but refused to do so, saying that GB&GWU’s General-Secretary, Lincoln Lewis, needs to be absent for the meeting to happen.

Although the company did not meet with the union representatives, they had a discussion with Junior Minister of Social Protection, Keith Scott, and Chief Labour Officer (CLO), Charles Ogle.

The government officials did not reveal what the proposals were, but President of the Guyana Trade Union Congress, Coretta McDonald, said they were told that the company is asking for the river to be unblocked because they are paying $1M a day. The meeting was initially set to allay the uncertainty surrounding the dismissal of workers who had taken strike action on February 15, to protest a one per cent increase in salaries for 2019. The workers have since blocked the river where the company’s bauxite-laden barges have to pass to go to the transhipment station for loading on ocean-going vessels.

“Well the Russians said they are not prepared to meet with the union unless Lincoln Lewis is absent and the river is unblocked so they can reinstate the workers,” said McDonald in an invited comment on Monday.

“There was no collective agreement since 2009 and there are lots of matters pending so we need to sit at a table and iron out the issues after which we will move to the next step,” said McDonald. Lewis, in an invited comment on Tuesday, said they have received a copy of the proposal and will continue to block the river until the union’s demands are met.

He had said the law provides for the ministry to call an arbitration tribunal to deal with the matter, a move which the union is prepared to support. “We heard that they want to set up a technical committee but we would prefer that the matter go to arbitration,” said Lewis.