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Sinohydro workers strike over late payment of wages and salaries
…matter resolved after intervention by Labour Ministry
Kaieteur News – Employees of Sinohydro Corporation Limited, a subcontractor of Zijin Aurora Gold Mines (AGM) on Wednesday downed tools in protest against the mining company’s failure to pay wages and salaries in a timely manner and poor working condition.
However, by Thursday afternoon the department of Public Information said that the matter has been resolved following a meeting with management of the company and the workers. According to the DPI the Ministry of Labour was aware of the strike action by some workers attached to Sinohydro Corporation and invited the company to a meeting to address the situation. Chief Labour Officer, Mr Dhaneshwar Deonarine and his team met with the Human Resource Manager, Ms Ruth Mc Taire and Ms Shania Braithwaite, Senior Human Resource Officer of Sinohydo Corporation Ltd. at 12:30 pm on Thursday at the Ministry of Labour, Brickdam, Georgetown.
At that meeting, the company indicated that the main reason for the strike was delayed payment of wages/salaries which was due on October 6, 2023, DPI reported. The company, DPI said assured the ministry that the workers were paid at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday and they have agreed to return to work with full resumption after their lunch break. “The ministry wishes to point out that at this time there are no unresolved complaints from any worker of the company,” the DPI reported.
Senior representatives of Sinohydro Corporation Ltd. Speak with striking workers on Wednesday
Meanwhile, Kaieteur News was reliably informed that the strike action began on Wednesday evening after frustrated employees declared, “Enough is Enough”. Employees told this publication that for several months they have not been paid their fortnightly wages on time. Sometimes after leaving the interior location, the workers who often time work several weeks in the interior and get several weeks off work, are left without any proper communication on when they would be paid their wages and salaries. According to the angry employees, the company would pay wages through a city bank that would then disburse the money to the employees’ accounts at their respective banks. This process, Kaieteur News understands takes approximately four days.
The workers explained that they are forced to wait for more than a week for their wages and salaries to be deposited into their accounts. On Wednesday, a group of frustrated workers contacted the city bank that handles AGM’s finances and were told that the company is yet to submit its payroll for the employees. Upon receipt of this information, the workers decided that they will not work until they are paid their wages and salaries on time and are treated in a respectful manner by the hierarchy of the mining company.
Most of the workers affected are attached to the Sinohydro Corporation Ltd. One worker told Kaieteur News, “We are literally treated like dogs and are expected to work under poor conditions.” The workers said too that their welfare is not taken seriously and that the management of the company is taking them for granted by treating them “anyhow”.
In a video seen by Kaieteur News, a Chinese Manager was heard telling the employees that salaries would not be paid if they do not work. In response, workers shouted, “Unfair, unfair”, as heated arguments between the Chinese supervisors and Guyanese intensified. The workers maintained that they will not resume duty unless they are paid their outstanding amounts. Following the meeting, management of the Sinohydro Corporation Ltd. Department committed to paying the employees today. Contact was made with an official of the company who said the company will not comment on the matter at this time.
- Chief Labour Officer, Human Resource Manager, Mr Dhaneshwar Deonarine, Ms Ruth Mc Taire, Ms Shania Braithwaite
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