Rusal deal among things to be discussed in upcoming meeting

Aug 21, 2020 News

– Government calls for a report from Rusal to determine its future operations in Guyana

Minister of Labor, Hon. Joseph Hamilton

General Secretary of the GB&GWU, Lincoln Lewis

Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Robeson Benn

Russian-owned Rusal’s deal with Guyana is on the agenda of discussions to be held in an upcoming meeting, according to Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat. The government has also requested a report from Rusal to determine their future operations in Guyana during a meeting between the company and government officials.
Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI) is 90 percent owned by parent company Rusal, with the rest owned by the Government of Guyana. The operations are at sites that were owned by the Government in Aroaima and Kurubuka, Upper Berbice River area, Region 10. Minister Bharrat, speaking with Kaieteur News, stated that President Irfaan Ali asked for a meeting to be held with the company as he would like to see their operations in Guyana restart.
Bauxite Company of Guyana has seen many disputes between workers and management over labor and wages within the past decade. This is according to General Secretary of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), Lincoln Lewis who spoke to Kaieteur about the affairs of the former workers in a telephone interview. Lewis disclosed that the workers had conducted several strikes and protests, including their most recent one that involved the Berbice River barrier being established, however, this industrial action ended weeks ago.

General Manager & Country Representative of BCGI, Vladimir Permakov

Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Vickram Bharrat

Lewis stated that the protest occurred in light of over 300 employees being laid off and Rusal blaming the action on fuel shortage and conflict with the Guyana Revenue Authority. Workers had blocked river shipments of bauxite on occasions with the company halting operations a few months ago, and attempting to ship out its heavy-duty equipment. Rusal had threatened to take action against these ex-employees, however the GB&GWU stood firm with the workers, declaring that “enough is enough”.
The company has been accused of also benefitting from generous tax and other concessions. Minister Bharrat acknowledged that investors leaving the country can contribute to high levels of unemployment and this is not something the government wants – especially in the bauxite industry.
Kaieteur News contacted Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, after learning that former Rusal workers had given up their lengthy protests and he was asked what plans the new administration had for the ex-employees and their dispute with Rusal. Hamilton disclosed that an initial meeting was held between officials from the government and Rusal, as instructed by President Ali. It was attended by Hamilton, Robeson Benn, Minister of Home Affairs, and Rusal’s General Manager and Country Representative, Vladimir Permyakov. Hamilton said the meeting served as a hearing of the bauxite company’s critical issues claimed they encountered that lead up to them being unable to continue bauxite mining operations in Aroaima, the aim being to find solutions to have their presence in Guyana restored.
In Minister Bharrat’s briefing to Kaieteur, it was stated that the company has provided a summary of their experiences in Guyana that included labor conflicts, technical matters, economic concerns, and the dispute between them and their ex-workers who placed a block at the Berbice River to bar bauxite being transported by the company.
In their breakdown, Rusal contended that there needs to be a proper restoration of their mine that was flooded to ensure there are safe mining operations. They also stated that a main economic concern was the operating cost for extracting bauxite in Guyana. The company maintained that the extracting cost was not competitive on the world market when compared to other sources and remedial work in the mines will also see potential additional costs. They further highlighted that relations between management and industry workers need to be patched to pave way for future investments in their operations.
According to Minister Bharrat, Rusal has since agreed to prepare the documents for their report and there could be a Joint Technical Committee meeting very soon where the government will examine the company and its future operations in Guyana.

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