Unions call for full involvement in bauxite talks
By Courtney Jones
The three unions representing workers in the bauxite industry are threatening to "take to the streets" if government does not fully involve them in the current negotiations with potential investors to privatise the industry. Officials of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), the National Mining and General Workers Union (NM&GWU) and the Guyana Mines, Metal and General Workers Union (GMM&GWU) told reporters at a press conference yesterday that they had "serious reservations" about the bauxite privatisation process. "If the government continues to proceed with the privatisation of the industry that impacts on the very existence of thousands of persons in that manner, then we will have no alternative but to take to the streets to show them the error of their ways," GB&GWU President, Charles Sampson, told Stabroek News after the press conference held at the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) headquarters. A statement signed by Sampson; President of the NM&GWU, Cyril Conway; and General Secretary of the GMM&GWU, Leslie Gonsalves, and given to reporters said the unions felt as if "government's perception of the privatisation process is limited to the selling off of LINMINE and BERMINE." Five companies/consortia are so far in the running for control of either the Linden Mining Enterprise (LINMINE) or the Berbice Mining Enterprise (BERMINE) or both. Those short-listed to bid for both include Alcoa World Alumina, Billiton and the consortium of Texas Ohio Energy, Harbison Walker, Possehl and Morrison Knudsen. Aroaima Mining Company already with bauxite mining operations in the Berbice River has been short-listed to bid for BERMINE, while RASC 2000 is leading the bids for the acquisition of LINMINE. Sampson told reporters that the unions had a fundamental disagreement with government's approach which only emphasised the selling of LINMINE and BERMINE. "We believe that the question of the future of the bauxite industry must, of necessity, take account of the welfare of bauxite workers and their families and bauxite mining communities," Sampson said. As a consequence, the bauxite unions are saying that any attempt at privatising either LINMINE or BERMINE, which fails to take account of its impact on the workers and the bauxite communities, "will be doomed to failure." Government on Thursday hosted a privatisation workshop at Le Meridien Pegasus to provide short-listed investors with more details to bid for the two bauxite entities and had been asked to extend the deadline from the end of this month to the end of October. This newspaper understands that deadline will be extended to the end of September and that if all goes well the two entities could be privatised by the end of the year. At Thursday's workshop, RASC 2000 and Harbison Walker and Texas Ohio expressed strong intentions of going all out to win control of the bauxite entities up for privatisation. But Sampson told reporters that the unions were convinced that government still did not understand what was involved in the privatisation of the bauxite industry. "There are so many issues that have to be addressed and most of these issues have not been addressed by the government," Sampson said alleging too that apart from the privatisation team government had no representative at the workshop "to answer the relevant questions." Sampson said that contrary to what the government would like to portray, the privatisation process is not going smoothly after so many years. "The whole process vis-a-vis the actual companies, the communities and the concerns of people have not been addressed in a meaningful way and until those concerns are addressed in a meaningful way, we as unions are not going to be party to this mad rush into privatisation," Sampson warned. Last week, the unions said, at a meeting with Prime Minister Sam Hinds who has responsibility for the mining sector, they had asked to meet the entities interested in participating in the bauxite industry. "We want to meet the individual groups that have an interest in bauxite and talk with them... hear what they have to offer to the communities since the bauxite industry is so interwoven that you cannot separate them," Sampson said. He accused the Privatisation Unit, headed by Winston Brassington, of not being very keen on having investors meet the unions although the investors were eager to talk to the unions. "There is no way privatisation can go forward if the unions oppose it," Sampson said. "It is the assessment of the unions representing bauxite workers that the continual deterioration in the quality of life in Linden and Kwakwani and the consequential hardships being faced by bauxite workers and their families is a function of chronic official neglect." Union leaders also said that they would not countenance a situation like what occurred at the Guyana Electricity Corporation (GEC) where certain groups were not given information. "We have to get all the information. We have to know, Because if we have to sell privatisation to the workers and the people we have to know everything and we have to be able to make an assessment of what each interested party wants to do for the community," Sampson said. He added that the perception of the unions, coming out of the Thursday workshop, was that there are some investors who want to talk to the unions, "and they are going to talk to us regardless of how the Privatisation Unit or the government feels." Union leaders at the press conference said that said that there had been some contact between the unions and RASC 2000 and that the company had already given some assurances, including that it would not lay off any workers if it gets control of LINMINE. Meanwhile, when contacted last night, Brassington slammed the allegations by the unions as a deliberate ploy to deceive bauxite workers and the country. Brassington said that his unit has been in constant contact with the unions on the issue of the privatisation of the industry. He also referred to the fact that Acting General Secretary of the GTUC, Lincoln Lewis, had been an integral part of the bid review process. Brassington said he was flabbergasted at the accusations made by the bauxite unions and observed that only last week they met the Prime Minister and other meetings have been scheduled. He noted that former general secretary of the GTUC, Joseph Pollydore, is on the Privatisation Board and any concerns the unions have should also have been addressed to the veteran trade unionist. In response to allegations by the unions that no government representative was at the workshop, Brassington said that Hinds spent half the day there, but had to leave to attend a funeral.
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