Loggers, miners abusing Amerindian labourers • names will be published says Minister Rodrigues

Loggers, miners abusing Amerindian labourers
• names will be published says Minister Rodrigues
Kaieteur News, 28 August 2007

By Leonard Gildarie

Government has received well in excess of 100 complaints over the past
year from Amerindian men about labour abuses in the logging and mining
industries.

This is in stark contrast to the perception that only Amerindian girls
were being abused, as far as hinterland residents are concerned. The
labour abuses of the men are far more than the women.

Promising stern action against some timber concession owners and errant
miners, Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues, yesterday
said that unscrupulous businesses are mainly targeting the Amerindians
from the Region One area (Barima/Waini). The majority of complaints
concern payment of wages and salaries.

In some cases, the Ministry was forced to shell out travel money for
Amerindians who were left stuck - unable to travel back to their
communities because they were broke.

In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Rodrigues threatened to
start going public with names of the interior businesses that refuse to
pay their employees. However, it was noted that efforts by the ministry
are hampered by the fact that many of the Amerindians from Guyana's
far-flung communities, desperate to secure their jobs, would enter into
private arrangements where more than likely there are no labour
agreements and no National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributions being
made. There are some cases where in accidents, the Amerindians were
abandoned after injuring themselves.

Although the Ministry does not have hard figures, and with the
assumption that only a fraction of the abuses fall under the radar of
Government's eye, the abuse is not confined to the logging companies or
miners.

In one case, even a lawyer was allegedly involved in the abuse of
Amerindians. In other cases, Amerindians were brought down and promised
all kinds of benefits to work on farms along the highway. However, the
reality quickly steps in and after not receiving their pay, the men
would contact the ministry for help.

“I think that people know now that we (the ministry) are here to assist
them (the Amerindians).”

Amerindians, because of their intense knowledge of the forest, are
preferred to others when it comes to working in the logging industry.
Some of the excuses being used by the miners are that they were not
paid for the gold produce so they are unable to pay the Amerindian
worker. In one instance, several Amerindian men were hired by a large
timber company (name given) from Region One to work in Region 10.
However, on arriving at the work site, the Amerindians found that there
was no work for them.

With no money in their pockets, the men came seeking help at the
ministry. The same ploy is used by loggers when time comes to pay the
workers. Either the wood has not been sold or money is not there. In
one instance, one of the loggers, after hiring an Amerindian to cut
logs, refused to pay because the man refused to transport the log from
the concession area.

“I understand that in the majority of these cases, the men
(Amerindians) are more than concerned about securing their jobs. But
perhaps a little investigation in the businesses hiring them will go a
long way in minimizing these incidents. Be vigilant. Be less trustful,
more suspicious,” the minister urged.

Another issue is that in many cases, it is hard to track down the
errant loggers or miners. The names given by abused workers are
sometimes only one name and in many instances the businessman would
simply not answer his phone.

On a positive note, more and more Amerindians are taking the initiative
and getting into the business of logging themselves, especially in
areas like Santa Cruz and Karau where the communities are involved in
logging. With a micro-project for a $100,000 credit programme in place
for Amerindians, the minister expressed confidence that things are
improving because attention is being paid to the concerns of
Amerindians.

According to the minister, she has had several meetings with officials
of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and Guyana Forestry
Commission, the bodies in charge of mining and forestry respectively,
to examine the possibilities to reworking the current regulations. In
explaining, she pointed out that for the miners and logging companies
to feel pressure, it may be better if it is understood from the
inception, when a concession for land is issued, that proper labour
practice is a condition. Perhaps the introduction of a much-needed Code
of Ethics may be the answer, she noted.

The import of this argument by the minister is mirrored in the recent
announcement that Bai Shan Lin, a Chinese logging company, is about to
take over the operations of Demerara Timbers Limited. Bai Shan Lin is
facing allegations of illegal labour practices.