-Minister Trotman says other companies lining up
-workers assured that they will not be left in the cold

By Vanessa Braithwaite
MINISTER of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, related that the issue surrounding the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI), which manages the Russian Aluminum Inc. (RUSAL), and the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers’ Union (GB&GWU), has not missed the government’s attention and it was actually part of major discussion at the level of Cabinet. A decision, he said, was made to form a sub committee including all of the ministries and agencies that have a stake in the company’s operation. These include the Ministry of Social Protection, Department of Labour, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, the Ministry of Citizenship and the Guyana Revenue Authority.

He related this news to residents of Kwakwani, at a community meeting on Sunday, after a RUSAL employee expressed his concern over the current situation facing his colleagues. In addressing his concerns, Minister Trotman said that the matter has been in discussion at Cabinet for several weeks and on Thursday, there will be a meeting with the RUSAL’s Board of Directors and a strategy has already been discussed on what format that meeting will take. “Cabinet has, in fact, agreed to a sub-committee, Ministry of Social Protection, Department of Labour, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Public Infrastructure because there are aspects there for shipping, roads etc., and Ministry of Citizenship because we are dealing with a lot of foreigners,” he said.

While it has been rumored that RUSAL is in preparation mode to end operations, Trotman said that the government does not have intentions of chasing the company out of Guyana but if it wants to go, there are already other companies that have expressed interest in taking up the slot. “We don’t want to chase RUSAL out of Guyana. At the same time, if they want to go, they can go and there is enough interest being shown, in the mines that RUSAL has, so we will have people to take over. We want them to stay but they must understand that they must have fairness, [and] equity. We want to ensure they have a good rate of return of investment. We also want to see their workers treated fairly and we also want to earn revenue from their production,” Trotman said.

The operation he said, will always be in demand, since the Kurubuka mines, where RUSAL sources its bauxite, produces one of the best quality of bauxite in the world.

If it is in fact that RUSAL decides to leave and a new company takes over, the Natural Resources Minister said that Guyanese will have a major say in any new concessions. While it is preferred for mining to be operated by the private sector, he said that the people and the government will, in the future, be integrally involved. In fact, he related that there is another bauxite mine up the Berbice River and a new company is discussion to operate there but the involved agencies will ensure that Guyanese have a major say. “So that is something that is up for discussion…..what we are focusing on is that Guyanese have a major say in this new concession,” he said.

There are currently three bauxite companies in Guyana: RUSAL, Bosai Minerals Group Guyana in Linden and First Bauxite in Region Three, which is preparing to commence its first operation.

While BG&GWU is looking at what is best for the workers, the government is looking at what is best for the country and the company as well. Presently, GB&GWU and BCGI is in conciliation, with the union standing firm on its position that it will not accept no less that eight per cent pay increase for 2019-2020. The company maintains that it could only pay six per cent. GB&GWU General-Secretary, Lincoln Lewis, said it is only a matter of time before the dispute goes to arbitration. The last conciliation meeting between the two sides, ended in a stalemate. Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, is expected to submit a report on the matter to Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally.

The process of wage negotiation started when workers staged a more than a month strike earlier in the year, when the company only offered a two per cent increase and those workers who demonstrated their democratic right, were initially fired. Workers were also complaining about working conditions they were forced to operate under. To date, workers have related that many of the issues have not been addressed by the company.