Labour environment conducive to instability and disruption of social order

Nov 24, 2019 Eye on Guyana with Lincoln Lewis, Features / Columnists

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The Coalition Government stands the risk of making labour its waterloo, if it does not urgently and meaningfully resolve the many issues on the industrial front, many of which have the potential to create instability.

We are operating in a labour environment that breathes opportunism politically and with the advent of oil is likely to only get worse if there is no serious attempt to communicate that a stable industrial environment is critical to harmonious relationship, production, productivity and development.
What is taking place today is making stronger the case why we need trade unions, for were they absent, conditions of work and the treatment of workers would put us back to an era the nation fought against and politically overcame. They are too many fires on the labour front. Some of what is happening creates the environment for provocateurs, opportunists and forces to exploit. There is a problem with local employers, namely GuySuCo, the public sector, teachers; and foreign-based businesses namely, Troy Resources and the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI/RUSAL).
Where agencies of the state abrogate their responsibility to ensure a harmonious environment in the respective sectors, others are looking on and will take their cue. It is to a nation’s advantage to send a message to all businesses, particularly foreign-based ones who may have a different culture, that they are welcome to do business, but must comply with the laws and respect workers/citizens. The historical gains made by organised labour – this nation’s first mass based organisation – and upon which the two major political parties (PNC and PPP) have shaped their development agenda, cannot be overlooked or cast aside.
People apparently are not understanding what they are doing. In instances there may be deliberate action of saboteurs. There are too many square pegs in round holes. Industrial relations is a rules-based system and discipline guided by international conventions, time-honoured principles, the Guyana Constitution and attendant Labour laws.
Every so often in the media, attention is being drawn to the disparity in treatment among the working class. This should not be escaping government’s attention, for it has potential to escalate ethnic tension and play to the gallery of political division. Workers at GuySuCo are no less deserving of meaningful dialogue to address concerns to them. Likewise, it is for others. When it comes to foreign-based businesses, government should ensure that the management respect the same principle.
It is not by accident our laws and Collective Labour Agreements allow for conciliation and arbitration, for our industrial relations practices aim to achieve and maintain a stable and harmonious working environment.
The undermining of labour over the years and the empowering of foreign employers have resulted in us reaching the stage of gross eye-pass. They disrespect our laws and violate our sovereignty. They are dabbling in our politics. BGCI for instance was allowed to violate our laws and trample the rights of workers with full compliance of the Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar administrations, a practice independent Guyana had never seen before. This government must break from it.
One wonders when these contracts were signed, were these people made to understand they must operate within the confines of the law. They are not only refusing to respect the workers’ right to a trade union of choice and collective bargaining, but they are refusing to meet with government officials, including ministers, when called upon. Some even reached the stage where they are making public declarations about our political climate.
After the recent industrial death of Ryan Taylor of Troy Resources, when the government moved to hold the company accountable for safety practices, one of the foreign managers in a meeting with the workers had a mouthful to say. The gold miners reported they were told that the government is illegal and dictatorial, and that manager said he doesn’t know why the government doesn’t call the election and go. Thereafter he rhetorically said, “what are they afraid of?” This is clearly a repeat of the Opposition’s position.
It is also not lost on society that outside of sugar, the Opposition ignores the plight of other workers. This is not surprising, given their behaviour in government that led to the belief that workers perceived not to be supportive could not rely on the then administration for adequate representation.
This belief might have goaded then BCGI General Manager Ruslan Volokhov, who in 2011 wielded a spade in his hand and threatened to bash the heads and faces of bauxite workers, then bury them. It was an environment where Volokhov felt comfortable treating bauxite workers in a disrespectful manner, no doubt influenced by the attitude and behaviour of the Jagdeo government at that time towards a section of the population, he felt empowered and safe.
In response to government’s expressing concern that Troy is laying off hundreds of workers, its Managing Director Ken Nilsson in an invited comment with Stabroek News said the cease order that came after the death of Taylor, in spite of the fact that it was rescinded shortly thereafter by Minister Amna Ally, means “The minister’s response [a cease order] seemed more of a political agenda. It’s not a level playing field” (Cabinet ‘most distressed’ at Troy’s ‘unconscionable’ layoffs…’- Nov 20th). The presumptuousness.
What political agenda can the Government of Guyana have towards a foreign company that abuses its resources while claiming that it is not making profit? What political agenda can government have towards this company other than to ensure the rights of the workers are protected and there remains a stable industrial atmosphere? Troy seems to be the one with a political agenda driving their actions, as evident by the statements these foreign managers are making.
In light of these foreign companies’ behaviours, it is easy to come to the belief that such behaviours are encouraged and being given tacit support. Guyana is witnessing its own form of internal and external forces working together to trample on law and order. This is why it is so important for government to recognise that an unstable industrial landscape is fertile ground for destabilising, predatory, opportunistic and destructive forces.
It is hard to fathom, in the no-confidence environment, riddled with alternative facts that would make day-to-day governing a challenge, the coalition seems oblivious and unperturbed by this unstable industrial environment. In these times of uncertainty and having to thread the needle carefully, it may be best to draw upon the experiences of our past.
In the eras of Forbes Burnham, Cheddi Jagan and Desmond Hoyte, in spite of political differences, foreign and local employers alike would have been held accountable jointly. Government would have seen to it that it set the standard for engagement in the state agencies, signalling to private businesses that nothing less would be expected or accepted where workers are unionised.
While these were periods hallmarked with growing pains, the political leadership saw to it that stakeholders placed premium on meaningful engagement and wanting to secure agreements. There are benchmark periods we can use as a standard of achievement and how far we slide backwards.
We must get our act together and truly represent what is expected of a Government and Opposition who both emerged from working class roots.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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