A bauxite company employee says the union misleads workers

Nov 09, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
I am taking this opportunity in your paper column to voice my concern over some unreasonable and misleading stories that were stated in the Guyana Chronicle recently, on the treatment of Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI) employees especially since they do not have a trade union to represent them. One of the lies is that the company is currently doing contracts to make permanent employees casual and casual employees permanent.
The other is that BCGI is organizing its employees with a document to disregard the GB&GWU as the union of their choice. However, before I go on, permit me to say I am one of the long serving employees of BCGI and an ex- serving employee of (AMC) Aroaima Mining Company Inc- which operated before BCGI and under the union (GB&GWU) had called a strike which lasted more than a week and the workers had to return to work without gains from it.
The workers were told that the strike was for wage and salary increases but the increases were never given. It must be noted that during the BCGI/RUSAL period which commenced its operations in the year 2006 there had been constant disputes between the workers’ union and the company which escalated into several strikes and both workers and company lost financially.
At one time too, we the floor workers were hearing about the company’s plans for closing the industry and pulling out of Guyana. The worst was in 2009 when workers proceeded on strike in spite of the fact that discussions between the Union and Management for wage and salary increases were in progress. The management at the time told the union that the 10% called for by the union was not practical and also explained that if they were to pay the 10% the company would have to retrench some workers.
The union authorized the strike and told the workers that the company was only bluffing. The company then felt that they had enough and dismissed those workers who were protesting dangerously among its operations and posing a threat to the safety of other workers who had continued on the job.
Now I am not against the functioning of a union within the BCGI operations but the union must be there to foster good relationship between the company and union membership who are workers of the company and must not operate purely as a pressure group, only making demands and ruling the company from the outside. Since the disconnection between the company and the union in 2009 to date, there had been no strikes.
Elymuell Barkoye

Latest News

A bauxite company employee says the union misleads workers

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | January, 20th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

West Indies U19 Women secure first win, advance to Super Six with...

“We will have a similar approach”

Sam, Fernandes outshine competition at GCF/Moo...

Ramzan, Fraser pilot Demerara U15 to strong win...

Dave West Indian Imports gets Everest Cricket...

Interim leadership agreed to dissolve GCF...

Features/Columnists

Berbice and Jagdeo’s legacy

OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus

Ministers and business ownership

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

A bauxite company employee says the union misleads workers

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | January, 20th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]