Who is looking out, for the Guyanese forest workers?

Who is looking out, for the Guyanese forest workers?
Kaieteur News, 13 November 2007

Dear Editor,

In a letter published in the Guyana Chronicle newspaper, Seepersaud

and Totaram Jaggernauth alleged summary dismissal by Rich Resources
Inc., in violation of Guyana 's labour laws and NIS regulations

(‘Wrongful dismissal', Guyana Chronicle letter, 06 November 2007).

The Jaggernauths said that they each had been employed by Rich
Resources Inc. (RRI) at its Supenaam sawmill for over two years, and
that no reason had been given for their dismissals.

DTL and Rich Resources Inc. (RRI) share directors and management
personnel. Mr S.K. Chan, CEO of Demerara Timbers Ltd. (DTL), informed
in his letter of 26 August, published in SN, that Rich Resources Inc.
(RRI) is “an associate company of DTL.” Mr. Chan also stated that
“major changes, if any, as to the status of its workforce [DTL's] must
be addressed with the union and the Ministry of Labour (Demerara
Timbers only deals with logs harvested by itself in its licensed areas.
SN, Sunday, August 26th 2007.
http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56527619). Who in
authority is looking out for the interests of Guyanese, including

Guyanese forest workers?

In another forest-related employment matter, in October 2007, the

Barama Company Ltd. threatened to dismiss plywood factory workers if

the Government were to uphold the law by disallowing the continuing

illegal renting of concessions by the company (‘Multi-million logging

fine…Barama says sanctions will cost jobs, threaten investments.'

Kaieteur News, 25 October 2007). That company's claim that it needs
more than its 1.6 million hectares in concession – for which it is
billed the princely sum of US$2,093 only per year by the Guyana
Forestry

Commission (US$ 0.0013 per hectare; compare that with the annual

property tax on a house lot in Georgetown ) — is belied by the IPO

documents of its parent company, Samling Global Limited, which stated

that in financial year 2005-6 Barama's plywood factory was operating at
27 per cent use of capacity and its sawmills at 7 or 8 per cent use of
capacity. Perhaps Barama's Chairman, Girwar Lalaram, meant that Asian
forestry workers would have to go back to Asia . That would be good
news for prospective Guyanese workers.

Through your columns, Mr Editor, I would like to read the response of
the Guyana Labour Union, the Trades Union Congress and the Ministry of

Labour on the rights of Guyanese workers in companies like DTL/RRI and
the extent to which these rights are communicated to the workers and

exercised by them.

Janette Bulkan