Union raises concern over presence of almost 100 foreign workers at Aurora

…says fewer than 20 members rehired

The Guyana National Mines Workers Union (NMWU), the recognised Union for workers of the Aurora Gold Mine, has raised questions over the presence of what it said is almost 100 Chinese nationals already at the site.
According to NMWU President, Sherwyn Downer, they have penned a letter to the Foreign Affairs Ministry seeking clarity on whether AGM, under new management in the form of Chinese company Zijin Mining Group, has applied for permission to bring and employ persons to work at Aurora.
“There are reports made to the union by our union branch representatives who are working at Aurora that an average of 90 Chinese workers are already in the country and at the worksite,” Downer wrote in the letter.
When questioned by this publication, Downer explained that only 15 to 20 of the workers who formerly worked at AGM and who belong to the Union, have been rehired. According to him, the support for the Union was well over 100 prior to AGM changing hands. He said that from his estimation, almost 100 non-unionised former employees of AGM have been rehired.
According to Downer, he has even written to Aurora’s Human Resource Director requesting clearance to visit while promising that all COVID-19 protocols will be followed. Downer said that there has been no response to this letter.
“The above-mentioned union which is the legally approved union for your company’s rank and file employees, hereby makes a request for a site visit to meet with our members. All protocols will be observed by the visiting team of the union. Kindly submit a date for which is best for your company or give the union a choice to choose a date,” Downer wrote in a letter dated October 24.
Asked by this publication what the next step will be, the Union leader noted that he is mulling protest action. AGM, previously owned by Canada-based Guyana Goldfields, has since come under the control of Chinese mining company Zijin Mining Group Co after it bought out Goldfields and its operations in Guyana.
Goldfields had moved to downsize its operations since May 2020, after facing constraints from the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with other financial woes. It was also linked to the company’s transition to underground mining.
After initially selling its operations to Silvercorp, another Canadian mining company, Zijin Mining Group made a superior offer to Goldfields that Silvercorp failed to match within the stipulated time. As a result, Zijin was able to clinch the deal.
Hundreds of local workers were laid off by Goldfields in the process, their job descriptions ranging from attendants to electricians to heavy-duty equipment operators and blasters. However, the company had said that former workers were being rehired in a phased manner.
Reports first emerged of AGM planning to bring in Chinese workers when the Private Sector Commission (PSC) wrote President Dr Irfaan Ali in September asking for his intervention, while noting that local content was at stake.
The reports were quickly debunked by AGM’s Director of Corporate Office, Compliance and Government Relations, Peter Benny. Nevertheless, reports of actual Chinese workers on site have persisted.