The revelation came at a meeting with workers of the Region Six mining site where employees came out in support of a merger of the bauxite operations on the Berbice River.

A worker at the Everton operation, Mr. Cleveland Jacobs, told the President that he was part of the workers group that had orchestrated the proposal under the leadership of union representative and Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary, Mr. Lincoln Lewis, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.

The documentation initially proposed to take over 70 per cent of the State-owned entity while the Government retained 30 per cent. This so-called workers group said the proposal would not see job losses, but the success of the BERMINE companies.

The proposal also indicated that the group had secured a "strategic investor." To date this has not been confirmed, as the group cannot name any individual or company that is willing to take over BERMINE. The proposal was subsequently revised and called for the Government to consider a 40 per cent takeover by workers with the same conditions attached, GINA said.

The workers at Kwakwani last week rejected this proposal, saying they were not even consulted before its formulation.

Yesterday, many Everton employees said they feel the same way but a few said they were consulted about the proposal, which according to Jacobs was put forward after the workers protested the Government's consideration of a proposal to sell its 50 per cent share in the Aroaima Bauxite Company (ABC) to Alcoa of the United States. Alcoa at that time owned 50 per cent of ABC, GINA noted.

Jacobs said the workers did not want the company to go to Alcoa because that would have been "a giveaway to foreigners" and instead they proposed to run the bauxite company themselves with the aim of stalling Government action on Alcoa's proposal.

Expressing shock at this declaration, President Jagdeo said this action had sidetracked the Government's focus from the real problems in the industry to a point of an "engineered crisis."

"On February 14, I received a proposal. Now I am hearing that this was all a crafted ploy...This is serious; a group of people just toyed with the workers' future and wasted the time of some top Government officials", he said.

According to the President, much time was spent on trying to find solutions to the many constraints facing the industry. He said the proposal, which was not orchestrated in the workers' interest and the future of the bauxite industry, was a political proposal and had wasted his Cabinet's time, as every week Cabinet was forced to discuss some issue adversely affecting the industry.

He said to think that people would make such selfish choices "is very disturbing". The result was that the proposal erased the Government's focus from the key issues of the merger as the way forward, GINA said.

However, the President said the proposals were entertained by the Government because his Administration wanted to be democratic and give the workers a chance to be heard.

"I did not want to delay things, but it became very political...They accused us of being racial and giving away the company...They infuse race into the issue because they know it can whip up emotions," Mr. Jagdeo said.

The Head of State said the only proper solution to the problem is the merger and the only way through which BERMINE can be sustained. Although there will be some level of job reduction, at least "bauxite mining on the Berbice River will continue," President Jagdeo asserted.

However, should the workers refuse the merger option, the Government is willing to hand over the company to them if they can name the "strategic investor", he said.

This option when voiced by the President was greeted with loud disapproval and the merger was backed by the Everton community.

Two five-person committees have been formed to next week discuss with the Government the future of the industry and severance pay, GINA said.