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Barama looks to supply local plywood market by June
The new five-tonne boiler which Barama Company Limited installed to assist with operations in the plywood section when operations resume in June, 2011.
Barama Company Limited, located at Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara, is aiming to restart its plywood operations to facilitate the local market by June. It also is hoping to ensure that exportation of plywood to other countries will resume by December.
During a tour of the work site, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, yesterday held discussions with senior management staff of Barama and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) about the reopening of the plywood operations.
General Secretary of the Guyana Labour Union (GLU), Carvil Duncan, who was also present, stated that the GLU is satisfied with this result especially since the workers who no longer had jobs due to the shutdown in October, last, were unsure of their future at the company.
Duncan said, “Barama had met its obligation to its workers.” Most of the old workers were very “enthusiastic” with this outcome, he added.
He explained that many workers at Barama have been employed with the company since it commenced operations, while some have been rendering their services to Barama “for some 10 to15 years”.
The General Secretary did express the thought that he hoped that the management team would be selective in re-hiring workers, having them screened first and then “put back to work” since some of them did not perform as expected.
Duncan added, “Barama has social responsibilities to its workers. Some were there from the beginning…”
Minister Persaud stated that with the installation of the five-tonne smaller boiler,
progress was evident at the wood company as it concerned the process by which plywood would now be produced.
He proffered that with Barama resuming plywood production, many old workers can be “re-integrated in the system”.
It was explained that when the plywood production shutdown its operations, Government facilitated the former workers with Information Technology (IT) training which lasted three months. Some of these workers “went off to other entities” after becoming skilled in the IT area.
Persaud said that with the installation of the new smaller boiler and re-opening of plywood services, Barama will have to operate differently, “with a new flow”.
The booming plywood sector, which is in strong demand with an early production in June this year, will ensure that the development and housing sectors are not “held back”.
A representative of Barama stated that the company “managed to overcome its struggle and didn’t stop operations other than the plywood operations”. Come June, the former workers will have an opportunity to resume duties at the company.
It was disclosed that the company is seeking to have its production rate in excess of 2,400 cubic meters per month when it re-starts plywood operations. There will be “new dimensions that were not there before” since systems have been modified.
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