Prepare for long fight - unions tell bauxite workers By Courtney Jones Stabroek News July 27, 1998 Workers in the bauxite industry and their dependents living in the communities of Linden, Ituni and Kwakwani have been told to prepare for a long fight with government over its plans to privatise the bauxite industry. "We have spoken to the workers. They are fully behind us in this issue and from the number of telephone calls we have been getting, people in the bauxite communities will back us fully in whatever action we decide to take", union representatives told Stabroek News yesterday. The three bauxite unions including the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), the National Mining and General Workers Union (NM&GWU) and the Guyana Mine, Metal and General Workers Union (GMM&GWU), have expressed concern at the way government has been proceeding to privatise the bauxite industry. The three unions have been particularly harsh on the role Prime Minister Sam Hinds, who has responsibility for the mining and energy sectors, has been playing in the privatisation process. "We put the blame for the current state of the industry especially for the state of LINMINE (the Linden Mining Enterprise) squarely at the feet of the Prime Minister", General Secretary of the GB&GWU, Lincoln Lewis told Stabroek News yesterday. Hinds declined on Friday to comment on the outcome that same day of a meeting with the unions on the industry when contacted by Stabroek News. He said, however, that a statement will be issued later. Union leaders charged that figures will show what they described as the drastic decline of the bauxite industry under the stewardship of Prime Minister Hinds. Linmine during the last four years has been recording a yearly loss of more than US$3 million while its sister company, the Berbice Mining Enterprise Limited (BERMINE) last year showed a profit in excess of US$2 million. Lewis said that the records of both LINMINE and BERMINE have shown that the management of the industry by locals has been more successful. He pointed to BERMINE which is managed by Chief Executive Officer John Lewis and noted that when in 1992, the then CEO of the Linden operations, Dunstan Barrow departed the company, it was producing in excess of 380,000 metric tonnes of refractory grade bauxite. When MINPROC, the Australian company contracted by the then People's National Congress (PNC) administration to manage its Linden operations left, LINMINE was only producing some 250,000 tonnes of refractory grade bauxite. No metal grade bauxite was being produced. "What is clear to us is the fact that the history of the bauxite industry has shown that local management has done better in managing the bauxite industry than foreigners," Lewis said. According to the bauxite unions, MINPROC also played a pivotal role in the current state of the bauxite industry. They told Stabroek News that when they spoke with Hinds about the fact that LINMINE's production was only 250,000 tonnes, "the government attacked the unions instead of taking a position alongside us to ensue that MINPROC lived up to expectations. According to the MINPROC contract, the company was supposed to oversee the LINMINE production of 400,000 tonnes of refractory grade bauxite and one million tonnes of metal grade bauxite annually. "We had the view then and we still have the view that Hinds as the minister responsible for bauxite failed to properly monitor MINPROC to ensure that it lived up to its contractual obligations", one union leader said. He said that the unions "have absolutely no guarantee" that the same situation will not pertain when the industry is privatised". One of our concerns too is that Hinds feels that he has all the answers for the bauxite industry. "We feel, and this is a point that we have thoroughly discussed with the members of our respective unions, that government must halt the privatisation process and give us time to commence our study on the state of the industry and submit a report on what we see as the way forward", Lewis said. Lewis said the unions are totally against the intention by Hinds to put out a document on privatisation of the industry by September. "While Hinds is going ahead with his plans we will be taking action to protect the interests of our workers and the people of Guyana who own the bauxite industry. "Let those who are arrogant or who underestimate our resolve and power in this issue beware", Lewis warned.