Employees attached to bauxite mining company Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Incorporated Wednesday downed their tools over disagreements relating to a proposed salary increase.
Over 60 workers, mainly operators attached to the East Montgomery Mines location, marched for miles where they joined others at the north gate of the company in peaceful picketing exercise.
According to the disgruntled employees, the action stemmed from a proposal made by the company to pay a salary increase ranging from 6% to 6.5%. B
Based on the offer, employees would be paid a 6% increase for one year, or a 6.5% increase if they agree to it for a period of two years.
The employees are contending that the proposal is totally unacceptable.
The employees contended that while they are willing to accept any increase above 6.5%, 9% or above increase would be most welcomed.
An employee, Cecile Boston of the Mines Department, said the proposal is unacceptable.
“This is unacceptable, because we don’t know what next year will bring…so we shouldn’t bargain for next year. The bargaining is supposed to start from 6.5 per cent… over the past three to four years we have been getting 6.5 per cent, so how now we must accept six per cent?”
He added: “the work getting harder and harder every day. It’s a great infringement upon us…we are in the mining sector, the operations section which is number one of Bosai and without us, Bosai don’t have a business…we need some changes and we’re talking positive changes”.
