Everton, Kwakwani workers to determine future of Bermine
Employees group proposal flayed
By Daniel DaCosta
Stabroek News
June 27, 2002
Ten Everton employees representing rank and file workers, management and the bauxite union are to join 10 representatives from Kwakwani in deciding the way forward for the problem-riddled Berbice Mining Enterprise (Bermine).
This was the outcome of a late afternoon meeting on Monday between Head of State, President Bharrat Jagdeo and some 150 employees of the bauxite processing plant at Everton on the East Bank of the Berbice River.
The 20 representatives forming the two committees will include six rank and file employees, two union members and two representatives of the management. The two committees will look at a severance package for those workers interested in this and "the way forward" for the company respectively. However, the workers at Kwakwani have agreed to accept a merger with Aroaima Bauxite Company (ABC).
A large number of employees packed into the plant’s Lunch Room burst into loud applause when the President declared "I want to increase your severance package." Earlier, he had assured them that he will safeguard their severance pay. The committees are to meet with President Jagdeo today at his office.
They will subsequently enter discussions with a technical team comprising representatives of BIDCO, ABC and the Office of the Prime Minister to hammer out a feasible plan for the company’s future.
Addressing the workers, Jagdeo noted that 20 years ago "bauxite was king and many of our developments came from proceeds of the bauxite company. However, over the last decade or more bauxite has been losing its edge on the world market."
"New large players," he said, "have come on the scene including Australia, China and Brazil. Coupled with this, trans-shipment problems, huge overburden, management issues, fragmentation of the companies and inadequate funds to re-capitalise the industry have added to its woes."
According to the Head of State, without government’s support Linmine and the town of Linden would not have survived. "For the last seven years Bermine," he noted "has not been paying any taxes while outstanding loans are still on the government’s accounts."
There was much discussion on the contentious Bermine Employees Group proposal for to rescue the company with some workers declaring ignorance of it. However, one worker who is also a union representative, while stating that the proposal was a counter to the Alcoa offer, stated that General Secretary of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union Lincoln Lewis had in fact explained the proposal to the workers at Everton. But he admitted that the details were very sketchy.
However President Jagdeo said the government had been trying to ascertain who the strategic investor mentioned by the Group was, but without success. "We do not know who the person or company is and we do not think there is any," he argued. "Without any major injection of money the company would collapse within a matter of months. All the technical people including BIDCO have analysed the Workers’ Group proposal and have said it is not feasible."
Reminding workers that the government has been trying for the past three years to find an investor for the company without success, Jagdeo declared: "I am contending there is no investor." Painting a gloomy picture of the company’s future in what he described as "an unhealthy situation," he remarked: "This company could collapse anytime now. For Bermine to survive ALCOA must buy its bauxite and we are still not sure that it will. You must have a contract because even if you produce the bauxite you still would not be able to sell it." The company, he noted, would then have a cash flow problem and would collapse almost immediately.
One worker disagreed with the President and argued that the company did have a contract but could not ship its bauxite because it could not use the loading basin at the mouth of the Berbice River. Another worker who is a member of the Bermine Employees Group said it was a pressure group aimed at forcing the government to take a tougher stand on the ALCOA proposal.
This evoked an immediate and strong response from Jagdeo. "I am very disturbed over this disclosure that the Group was only a pressure group," he replied. According to the President, the Group had played with the future of the bauxite workers and wasted a lot of time.
"Over the past seven months they have held up the process and side-tracked us while wasting the time of a lot of top officials." He said he was very disturbed and disappointed over the revelation. However, a colleague interjected saying, "The workers protested and made a counter-proposal because the government was giving away the company to ALCOA."
Touching on the possibility of a merger, the Head of State said "I do not know what will happen with Aroaima (ABC) too, it is breaking even now but we can give it a shot. Even without a merger we will have to lay off a lot of workers and the company will still collapse because it has no markets."
"The merger," he admitted "might fail or succeed but I am prepared to give it a chance and at the same time look at what can be done simultaneously to help workers."
Asked what would come out of the merger, Jagdeo replied: "I cannot tell you, this is why the committees will have to meet the technical team and determine what is feasible. I am not here to decide on a merger but there must be a consensus." The company, he posited, cannot survive alone and that is why we need to bring all the players together to come up with a consensus.
Some workers were critical of the company’s management and one queried what the government was doing over the years while the company was sliding into crisis. "Without government’s help Bermine would have had to close eight months ago," the President responded, adding that the company only survived because it is state-owned.
Bermine’s Chief Executive Officer John Lewis made a brief intervention to say that he was only an adviser to the Bermine Employees Group and to correct a figure quoted by an employee while referring to bauxite capping sales. According to Lewis, the company sold some $97 million in capping during last year and $59 million in 2000. So far for this year, the company has sold approximately $23 million. This prompted Jagdeo to say, "There is a huge possibility for the company’s bauxite capping," and he suggested that this could be one of the possible options for the company.
The President also repeated an offer he made at Kwakwani to provide Everton workers who do not have house lots with free lots. "We are trying to do the best for workers but we all have to make tough decisions. However, we may be able to safeguard bauxite production in the Berbice River," he concluded.
One worker said he was worried over where his next salary was coming from and he wondered where had the money been coming from recently to pay salaries, asking whether it was from the government or the company. After the meeting the President and his party were taken on a conducted tour of the plant by Lewis and senior employees.
Accompanying the President were Commissioner of Geology and Mines, Robeson Benn, Chairman of BIDCO, Ron Webster, and Regional Vice-Chairman Kadim Bacchus.