" Ministry probing complaints of poor conditions at manganese company", 15 February 2022

"Complaints by employees at the Chinese company, Guyana Manganese Inc (GMI)  of dire working conditions are  engaging the attention of the Ministry of Labour.

The statement by Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton came in light of  the complaints  received by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) on working conditions at the company’s Matthews Ridge location in the North West district...

In a press statement on what the employees were saying, GAWU said “proper sanitation is absent and despite their repeated pleas, it appeared to them, the company was not prepared to meaningfully address the situation… They also lamented the physical condition of the housing facilities which they shared required urgent repairs and rehabilitation to bring it to an acceptable level.”  It was noted that workers, who were not named in the statement for fear of victimization, lamented they had to work in deteriorating conditions during the current COVID-19 pandemic in which sanitation is of greater importance.

“We have a Labour Officer in Port Kaituma. If an official report was made by the workers or the union that Labour Officer could have visited. I will have to suggest to the CLO for that to be done,” the minister said...

The Minister added that this is not the first time they had to deal with labour complaints from workers at GMI. Just after taking office, he explained that workers had complained about wages and salaries and that was sorted out.

He stated that the company is not new to Guyana and being a subsidiary of Bosai’s operations in Linden they should have been aware of the criteria  under which they are permitted to operate..."