Govt must join unions in facing bauxite industry challenges - TUC General Secretary Stabroek News May 1, 2000 General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, Lincoln Lewis says that the conventional privatisation approach to the bauxite industry does not appear to provide a guarantee for the future of the sector and warned against a "quick fix" solution to the challenges. Speaking at the opening of a forum on the future of the bauxite industry on Wednesday at the Park Hotel, Lewis said the indications are that the stakeholders must continue to explore options which go beyond those currently available. "We believe that the sheer scale of importance of the industry to the future of our country compels us to leave no stone unturned to ensure that we make the correct decisions," he stated. He urged that the government be responsive to the ideas generated from the forum and join with the unions in the search for solutions to the challenges of the industry. Lewis said the unions are in a better position now to assess the fortunes of Linmine and Bermine. He said the interaction with the Privatisation Unit and government officials over the last two years has given the unions a more enlightened view on the future of the industry. Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, there as a guest of the unions, reiterated government's commitment to pursue a number of economic initiatives in Region Ten, including Linden, which has been heavily dependent on the ailing bauxite industry. "Our problem is how we can best make a living in Linden and Region Ten, both at present and into the future," the Prime Minister stated. "The question is whether we can make a living out of bauxite or whether there are other things we can do to make as good or even better living." Although there were no important developments since the last bauxite seminar held in July 1998, the period provided an opportunity to reflect on how the approaches taken since have worked out, Hinds said. He said stakeholders have to consider a number of fundamental issues; in the case of bauxite production in Guyana there are problems of overburden to ore ratio and less available facilities in the industry. He pointed out that the income from the industry has not been enough to facilitate reinvestment in new equipment and technology that have become available over the years. "Whatever we do must be long term, sustainable and profitable. We must make a return," the Prime Minister stated. He said an analysis of the industry would show that Guyana's market share for the product plateaued around the period of the Second World War. A 1970 report by Joseph Tyndall questioned whether the Demerara Bauxite Company, as it then was, operated at a profit or was surviving from wealth accumulated over the previous years, Hinds noted. He said these and other factors have shown that the industry has become less viable over the years. The two-day forum ended on Friday with great optimism and a list of recommendations is to be compiled and forwarded to President Bharrat Jagdeo for consideration.