Aurora workers ready to strike again if union demands aren’t met

Aurora workers ready to strike again if union demands aren’t met – NMWUG

Aug 02, 2019 News

The three working units of Aurora Gold Mines Incorporated (AGM Inc.) are reportedly preparing to strike if demands are not met for the unionising of all of the workers.

Director, Corporate Office and Compliance, Peter Benny

President of NMWUG, Sherwin Downer

The rank-and-file workers from all three units – Buckhall, Tapir and Aurora – have reportedly organised themselves to make a stand after receiving word that the processing of their request to be unionised has met yet another obstacle.
President of the National Mine Workers’ Union of Guyana (NMWUG), Sherwin Downer, walked out of a meeting on Tuesday last with Senior Labour Officer, Prandatt Basdeo, and two officials of AGM Inc., including Director, Corporate Office and Compliance, Peter Benny.
Downer told Kaieteur News that he had expected the meeting to be a confirmation of the survey process, as his union has reportedly already submitted 300 signed application forms, a copy of the union’s constitution and its receipt book, last Friday, for the union recognition process.
He said that at the Department of Labour, he was notified that Benny indicated he would join the meeting via Skype, to which Downer had objected. Downer said that Benny at one point strayed from the focus of the meeting, and started to question his credentials. When Kaieteur News contacted Benny about this, he responded “What credentials did I question? I do not concern myself with that.”
During previous correspondences with Kaieteur News on the same matter, Benny had urged the publication to look into Downer’s background, asking, “What is his industrial relations experience? Where was he trained? Where did he get his exposure?”
But what was more disconcerting, according to Downer, was that the discussions seemed to turn into a lecture being delivered by Benny.
The union representatives reportedly walked out of the meeting after fifteen minutes.
Speaking to Kaieteur News about the meeting, Benny said, “I guess, at some point during the discourse, the union became very agitated and walked out of the meeting, claiming that the company was lecturing the meeting, even though it was clarifying ahead of time, matters which would need to be addressed.”
Benny said that labour officials “tried to calm him [Downer] down” as it was necessary for the union to understand the process, as Benny claims he has been through it several times.
Benny’s contention, which caused Downer and team to exit, was talk of a “sensitive unit” of AGM Inc. which would prove challenging for the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board (TUR&CB) to recognise.
Benny said, “Even though some employees fall within the proposed bargaining unit, the law caters for some employees to be excluded from being unionised, because they may be dealing with sensitive matters of the company and should not be exposed to a union.”
Benny said those people would be considered ‘excluded personnel’. It is unclear how the negotiations will continue.
Minister of Labour, Keith Scott, had gone to Aurora to meet with the workers on July 8, promising them that the request for union recognition would be expedited. But that is now facing hiccups.
Downer claims that Benny has said that no union will be involved with AGM Inc. as long as he is there.
The NMWUG President has been trying to bargain for the workers since 2016. Recent developments hit the news when hundreds workers at Aurora staged a strike, a month ago, suspending operations for days. Workers were reportedly camped out in the rain, had their internet cut off so they couldn’t reach the outside world, and even refused food on one day of the strike.
That strike only involved one unit of AGM Inc. This possible strike could see all units – Buckhall, Tapir and Aurora – effectively shutting down the operations of AGM Inc. if it occurs.
The company, after the strike, had attempted to placate the workers by giving them a one-off 7.6 percent bonus, something Downer says is a common practice of the company, in lieu of pay increases and improved working conditions.
But the workers are reportedly adamant that they will no longer settle for less, and are demanding that all be unionised.