–on results of investigation into accident; workers concerned about delayed reopening of company

By Tamica Garnett

ALMOST one month after his demise, the relatives of former Troy Resources Inc. employee Ryan Taylor are still awaiting the results of investigations that were conducted into his death at the Karouni Gold Mine in the Cuyuni Mazaruni Region.
Taylor, a geologist, died on October 8 at the company’s “Hicks One Extension” pit while on duty, after he was buried beneath the rubble of part of the mining pit which had collapsed.
He left to mourn his three children, aged 13, eight and five, his mom and his grandmother among other family members.

His mother, June Taylor, said the family was visited by representatives from the company as recent as last Tuesday, but they told her the company was still awaiting the outcome of the reports from the various investigations that were conducted into the accident. “They come, but they are just saying that the people [company executives] are outside [of the country]…” Mrs. Taylor said. “They have meeting and they ain’t get no report from GGMC, they ain’t get no report from the police. You mean to tell me since the 8th [October] GGMC, police, all of them went in there and up to now they ain’t get a report?” she told the Guyana Chronicle.

Following Taylor’s death, investigations were launched by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Occupational Health and Safety Department (OHSD) of the Ministry of Social Protection. The company was said to have also launched its own investigation.

Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman had earlier confirmed that he had received the GGMC report on October 17. However, on Tuesday, Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally said she had not yet received the OSHD report. Mrs. Taylor said that following her son’s death, she was contacted by the company, and that they subsequently stood the expenses for the funeral. However, as it pertains to the family being compensated, she said the company told her that it was awaiting the outcome of the investigations before making that decision.

“They come and they paid for the funeral; the tomb and these things they paid for. Since then, we still waiting. Since the 8th [October] my son die, we are still waiting to get reports,” June said.

She said that she regularly speaks with a female human resource official from the company, but having recently been told that the report was out, she will be attempting to contact the company. “Somebody told me [last] Friday that the GGMC report come out,” she said, adding: “I had planned that I want to go in, but I’m a little busy right now. But I said by [this] Friday, I would to go in to them. She does normally talk to me, but I don’t know if she had a busy schedule today [Monday]. I just call to see what’s going on; how are things, and if she hear anything.”

June said it has not been easy for her since the day she was told that her son was dead. “My big son was up there,” she tearfully recalled. “He works with ‘Troy’, and he called and told my nephew at 3am. And then my nephew come over and tell me sit down; and he give me the news, that he [Ryan] had an accident and he’s dead.”
“I can’t even go back to that,” she said, adding: “That was a hard blow for me. It’s too much; everywhere I go I crying. It hard; I don’t know how I gon’ make out; it too much.”

AVOIDABLE
Executives of the union representing the workers, the People’s United and General Workers Union (PUGWU), believe that Taylor’s death was avoidable. PUGWU President Lincoln Lewis, noted that they had been receiving complaints from workers since last year on issues of safety.
June said that she, too, had heard that conditions at the mines were not entirely safe.
“My son was working under some adverse conditions,” she said. “I hear it was bad; people are talking, but I can’t call people names. People had pictures all of the place; of the conditions. But my son was working because he wanted an honest dollar; so people know that the place didn’t have proper steps for how they does do it, and all of that. Somebody told me about it, but they said to keep quiet and don’t call their name. But people know what [was] going on in there.”

June said that at the moment, she is not considering legal action, as she is waiting s to see how the company will handle the situation first. “No; not right now,” she said. “We’re trying to be fair with them; with ‘Troy, and wait on them, because they said they will talk with us. We’re trying, with all fairness, to wait on them to tell us what they will do; if they will compensate us. They did say they will do something; they’re not telling you what they will do, but they said hold on. So I’m trying, with all fairness, to wait on them. I’m not really pursuing lawyers right now until they talk to me.”
Nonetheless, the 61-year-old said Ryan’s death has been a hard blow to the family financially, especially for his children, who have not been able to access money left in his bank account.

“They hold he account at the bank,” Mrs. Taylor said, adding: “The bank said I have to do a Letter of Administration before I could get anything, because he died without leaving a will. I went to Legal Aid to talk to them; It gon’ take six to nine months. So his money there, but his children can’t get no money this month. The li’l girl have to travel and all of that; the children them need money to live.”

EMPLOYEES CONCERNED
Meanwhile, even as June awaits word on the reports, employees of the company are also awaiting word on what is contained in the reports, as well as the fate of the company’s operations and their jobs. The company has ceased operations since October 12, when they were ordered to do so by MoSP Junior Minister Keith Scott. Minister Ally later, on October 15, reversed the directive, after the company laid off hundreds of workers. However, the company’s operation still remains suspended.

“Everybody wants to know what’s going on. We’re home; they’re not telling you anything. Nobody don’t want to make a different turn and then the company start up back, and they call you and you not there and you lose all your benefits,” expressed an employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Following the company’s closure, the employees were paid on October 15 for work up to October 11. The employee confirmed that prior to Taylor’s death, workers in the mines were somewhat concerned about the techniques being utilised by the company in the pits. “We used to tell them, ‘Man, these walls unsafe and them sort of stuff.’ Not last year; is long. We used to talk to the supervisors; they would forward it to management. The feedback was, ‘They say they gon’ work on it.’ And sometimes they would work on it,” the employee attested.

Like Taylor, he said the employees chose to continue working, notwithstanding the situation, given their financial obligations. “Everybody felt hurt [about Taylor’s death], because we used to talk; we didn’t want anybody lose their life. Everybody got a family; everybody got a reason why they in there; we used to talk about it every single morning. Before we go to work in the morning, we would pray; we would talk about it. We would raise concerns about these walls and so on,” he said.

In an earlier interview, Minister Trotman said that prior to the incident, GGMC, over the years, has been carrying out regular quarterly inspections at the company’s mines, as well as periodic visits, and that during that time, nothing untoward was observed at the operations. “They do quarterly investigations,” he said, “but apart from the quarterly, they do intermittent investigations. On the very day that this accident took place, a visit was scheduled. From the reports I’ve received before, nothing was observed that would have led to them putting a halt on mining at the company. From time to time, areas of concern would’ve come up, and they would have been pointed out and corrected, but nothing would’ve jumped out as being something that required urgent immediate attention; such that you needed to shut operations down. That is the information I’ve received.”