Latest update December 16th, 2024 9:00 AM
Workers at Aurora Gold Mine strike over lack of union, severance
Workers at the Aurora Gold Mine (AGM) of Guyana Goldfields have staged a strike over several issues, including alleged workers’ rights abuses, a lack of union representation, and for severance that was promised to them.
President of the National Mine Workers’ Union, Sherwin Downer, picketing Guyana Goldfields last Friday.
The employees that spoke with Kaieteur News expressed the desire to remain unnamed. They have claimed fear of persecution by the administration.
Estimates early yesterday stood at about 60 workers who had stayed away but by last night, one of the workers said that roughly 250 of the 400+ workers at the mine had joined the protest action. He said that most of the remaining workers are from the second shift.
Back in March, Guyana Goldfields signed an open pit contract mining agreement with STRACON, a Peruvian contractor, focused on open pit and underground mining. STRACON’s work, according to the contract, commenced on July 1, 2019. It was expected that the mine workers would be rehired by STRACON.
A worker at the Aurora Gold Mine told Kaieteur News that it was agreed that they would be paid severance, but no one was paid. Frustrated, the workers began to strike. Their internet connection was reportedly cut off at about 10:30 in the morning so they couldn’t relate their grievances to the outside world.
One worker said that, when he left the mine at noon, the mills and workshops had been down for hours.
It was also reported to this publication that a mine manager visited the workers during the day, but appeared unaware of the concerns they raised.
President of the National Mine Workers Union (MMWU), Sherwin Downer, told this publication that the workers have not been unionised, and have refused to resume work until they meet with the union. This was confirmed by one of the workers, who said that they will stay away from work until they get justice.
Human Resources Manager at Guyana Goldfields, Peter Benny, was expected to make a statement on the matter yesterday. But when Kaieteur News reached out to him, he did not respond.
Attempts were also made to contact Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, but these proved futile.
Over the past year, Kaieteur News has been contacted by several persons purporting themselves to be employees of Guyana Goldfields, detailing abuses allegedly meted out against them.
Kaieteur News has been unable to substantiate these claims, since most of the persons, claiming to be fearful of persecution, neglected to give key details about their identities and/or were unwilling to go on record.
The AGM workers are not the only ones who are seeking union representation. On Monday, this publication reported that workers at the Buckhall unit have also been seeking union representation for several years.
The Mill area at Aurora Gold Mine.
A recent attempt by Downer to have the Buckhall rank and file workers recognised by the Trade Union Recognition Certification Board (TUR&CB), of which Ogle is the head, proved unsuccessful.
This is because, Benny explained to labour officers, it would be more complicated than recognising workers at one unit, since workers are regularly transferred, depending on the needs of each unit.
But Downer had told Kaieteur News that the argument Benny made, which effectively halted the application process, was meritless. Downer has become critical of how the Department of Labour has been treating with Guyana Goldfields, purporting that it has allowed Guyana Goldfields to act somewhat with impunity.
Last Friday, he picketed the Guyana Goldfields head office at Liliendaal, Turkeyen. Downer said that the company must show respect for the desire of its workers to unionise.
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