…employees stand to receive little despite years of service – Union
As Oldendorff Carriers prepares to close its operations in Guyana, several plans are being made to work out severance packages for the close to 200 workers who are likely to lose their jobs.
Oldendorff operations at the mouth of the Berbice River (Oldendorff image)
This move comes as a result of the United States (US) sanctions against Russian Aluminium (Rusal). Oldendorff Carriers is a transshipment company that has operations both in Linden and Berbice.
The People’s United and General Workers Union (PU&GWU) said on Monday that it was in the process of submitting to the Natural Resources Ministry a proposed payment package for these workers.
The Union said during a meeting with Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman; Minister within the Ministry, Simona Broomes and Union representatives on Monday, a commitment was given by the Government representatives to support reasonable benefits for the Oldendorff workers.
Oldendorff had related that it would be closing its operations by June 5 if no major change had occurred in relation to the US sanctions. The Ministry informed that Oldendorff has also declared its intention to pay the workers their severance, but the Union has expressed its concerns over these possible payments.
“The PU&GWU informed the Natural Resource Ministers that since acquiring legal status to represent Oldendorff workers in November of 2015, the company has failed to commit to a wages and salary agreement and has continued to impose same on workers,” it said.
The PU&GWU, therefore, informed the Ministry that the company had also taken two years before it recognised the Union as the workers’ representative. The Union had sought the support of the last Administration and the current, to hold Oldendorff responsible, but did not receive any.
“Our agreement spoke to possible closure of the business, where they would have been required to open an account to place workers’ payments before they left. The agreement also involved the company not being able to move any of its assets until workers were paid off,” it recalled.
However, without this collective agreement, the PU&GWU said workers stood to get very little despite their years of service to a company that has been operating in Guyana for some 13 years. The severance pay legal requirements point to means minimal benefits which the Union believes is unacceptable.
Nevertheless, the PU&GWU said it would propose the package and the Ministry has promised its support, with the engagement of all parties. The Ministry also informed the Union that there were interested parties who were willing to replace Oldendorff. “The Union has opted to provide the Ministry with information regarding the workers as we advocate for them receiving first preference amongst these new companies.”
Another issue raised by the Union is the fact that after several years of operations in Guyana, the company has constantly recorded a loss. Both Ministers have committed to ensuring that that some measures were put in place to address these matters, since it was hard to believe that for the 13 years the company has been in Guyana, it has not managed to make any profit according to its financial records.
“In other countries, if after five years a company is making no profit, operations are closed, but Oldendorff remained in Guyana. Minister Trotman did promise to take this particular concern to Cabinet. The Ministry and Oldendorff have planned to meet with staffers in Berbice by the weekend,” the Union added.
Ever since the US sanctions against Russian business tycoon Oleg Deripaska, the main owner of the EN+ conglomerate — the co-owner of Rusal — began to sink in, the local operation in Guyana has significantly scaled back on its exportation of bauxite.
Rusal is one of the largest aluminium producers in the world, and has operations here in Guyana in the form of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI), employing over 500 persons.
According to reports, the sanctions against Rusal have caused aluminium prices to surge, since the sanctions freeze all of the company’s assets under the US jurisdiction.
BCGI said recently that it has continuously been monitoring the situation. A senior management official at the company had said that since the news broke, there has not been any change to operations here.
