AGM local workers complain of being treated differently from Chinese

Jul 02, 2021 News

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Kaieteur News – Local workers at Aurora Gold Mines (AGM), currently being operated by a Chinese company called Zijin Mining Group, have complained in a five-page long document about being treated differently from the Chinese employees.

The document which was shared with this newspaper took the form of a letter and was addressed to “whom it may concern” by “we the people! (AGM Employees).”
In addition to complaining about being victimised by their Chinese bosses, denied free time, overworked, being punished without proper investigation and unfair dismissals, the local workers highlighted that they are also being fed differently when compared to the Chinese workers.
The locals in the document revealed that the Chinese nationals have a separate kitchen from them and that they are prohibited to go there. In addition, they stated, “All of the fresh food items from fruits to meats are going to the Chinese kitchen along with the utensils, napkins, etc., while the Guyanese are left to eat cut up chicken scraps such as chicken skins and little to no vegetables with meals.
Kaieteur News was also sent photos to support the local workers’ claims. In the Lunch room of the Chinese nationals, each table had napkins along with peanut butter, ketchup, etc. However, in the Lunch room of the locals, the tables were empty and only one pack of napkins along with a single jar of peanut butter, ketchup, etc. were placed on a counter for them to use.
The workers also complained that the nutritional value of the food they are being fed is poor and it seems as though proper sanitation is not being practiced in the preparation of the meals because a number of them had taken ill with food poisoning.

They continued that their rooms are not being cleaned due to understaffing and mold has built up on their doors and walls. They claimed that they have been forced to turn off their AC Units to assist the company with cost savings, making the situation in their rooms worse. These restrictions, according to what Kaieteur News was told, seem to be only for the Guyanese workers while the Chinese are allowed certain privileges.
Speaking with Kaieteur News, some of the employees said that they were forced to compile the document because the government has failed to address their situation as to how they are being treated. In the document they stated, “We can no longer depend on the internal local leadership much less the union that was proposed to us through suspicious channels, we are going public now for the sake not just of those who work here, but for the entire Guyanese population who will be under the thumb of these foreign companies and a government whose lack of addressing antiquated labour laws and constantly overlook what is being done do Guyanese by these companies.”
Contacted yesterday, the Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, said that no formal complaint was lodged by the workers about them being treated differently from the Chinese.
“And I reiterate,” said Hamilton, “that no formal report has been lodged with the ministry recently, at least not in the last two months.”
However, said he had heard such “stories” (claims) before and had visited AGM to engage the Guyanese workers. During the visit said he asked them to highlight concerns but no one had raised that specific issue or came forward to say anything.
The minister said too that he had dined together with them and the foreigners during the visit and he did not see anything out of order and had “validated” everything. Hamilton continued that the ministry cannot carry out a proper investigation or take a company to court unless someone comes forward to make an official statement.
“If the ministry is to take company to court you will need testimony and not just hearsay,” the minister said.
Hamilton and a delegation from his ministry had visited the mine on Tuesday December 1, 2020, to get a firsthand understanding of the working conditions. He had told reporters that he had gotten to engage the local workers uninterrupted by the management of the operations.
It was reported in the media that the locals raised concerns of not receiving overtime payment, temporary contracts and long assignments. With regards to the non-overtime payment, Hamilton was quoted as saying that “there was some miscommunication with regard to overtime payment where workers are made to work 12 hours, but their payments do not reflect overtime.” The Minister had also urged that both the foreigners and the locals must be paid equally for they are doing same type of work.
Hamilton had also recommended mechanisms to be implemented to iron out grievances between workers and management. The management had conceded to the recommendations. Hamilton said yesterday that it was up to the representative body between the management and the workers to address such matters.
The AGM workers, however, related to this newspaper that they do not the trust “set up” because it is compromised and moreover their concerns don’t get addressed anyway. With regard to why some workers are afraid to speak out, the employees said that it is because they fear punishment, victimisation or being fired. The workers further contended that the minister did “say a lot of things during his visit but to date those things never materialised.”
Complaints, they added have been frequently made to certain union representatives but the concerns are still not being addressed. The president of the National Mine Workers’ Union of Guyana (NMWUG), Sherwin Downer, confirmed that indeed he would receive such complaints from the AGM workers almost every day.
“The employees almost daily would make contact with the union about unfair treatment by the Chinese AGM/ZIJIN,” Downer said.
When asked about the separate kitchen and the type of food the locals are being fed, Downer responded, “Scrap meat in food, yes, the union received such reports.”
The NMWUG president further voiced his opinion from the complaints his union had received by saying, “The Chinese seems to be running a business like a prison. Abusive language towards the employees almost on a daily basis and poor quality food, sleeping conditions, issues of NIS being deducted but not remitted to the NIS Office.”
Kaieteur News has since contacted the AGM Director of Corporate Office, Compliance, and Government Relations, Peter Benny, about the complaint letter written by the AGM employees. He was forwarded a copy of the five page document and has promised to make response to the claims made by the workers
The licence for AGM was recently acquired by Zijin Mining Group from a Canadian company, for a total of US$238M. The company has since hired a fellow Chinese company, Sinohydro, as subcontractor to do “stripping works” in AGM (the removal of the overburden land to access the ore). A total of 1,000 Guyanese are currently working in the mine both as employees and contractors through Sinohydro.
Kaieteur News has been on the forefront exposing the luxurious deal the Chinese company is benefitting from as a result of a contract that Guyana had signed with former Canadian owner of AGM back 2011. The provisions allow the company to determine how much royalty it pays Guyana for its gold and tax waivers it enjoys. It was also recently revealed that if they find diamonds in the property, they would only pay Guyana a mere 1.5% royalty from the sales.

 

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