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Labour Minister tells foreign-owned Demerara Timbers Ltd. to respect union, workers
– summons company’s superiors to meet him and GAWU
Kaieteur News – Yesterday Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, in a very blunt manner, told officials of the foreign-owned Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL) that they must respect the Union and the workers.
Minister Joseph Hamilton engaging GAWU and DTL representatives.
In a release it was noted that the Minister was disturbed that the company has been refusing to engage the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) for some period. This, it added is now in clear contravention of the Laws of Guyana.
The meeting with the Minister followed GAWU’s appeal last week for the Ministry of Labour to uphold Collective Bargaining between the Union and the company.
According to the release, the Minister, during the meeting, was visibly upset that the DTL workers’ rights were wantonly being trampled upon by the company. When asked for an explanation, the company’s acting Human Resources Officer, revealed that the DTL’s stance originated from instructions from his superiors. Minister Hamilton found the explanation unacceptable and told the DTL representatives that he wishes to engage their bosses as it appeared they were constrained from making any decisions. As a result, Minister Hamilton, through the Chief Labour Officer (Ag), has summoned the top officials of the DTL within the next two weeks. He has also committed within the near future to visit the Company’s operations at Mabura Hill.
GAWU, through its President, Seepaul Narine, thanked the Minister for his intervention. He recognised the efforts of Minister Hamilton in seeking to ensure that workers’ rights are respected. GAWU’s President pointed out that it is disturbing that those enterprises are seeking to disregard workers’ rights while benefitting from the nation’s patrimony. He urged the Minister that should the company’s superiors fail to avail themselves, stronger actions should be taken.
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