By Balford Henry, News EditorHORACE DALLEY, Minister of Labour and Social Security, has invited the management of Jamalco Clarendon Alumina Works to a meeting at his Ministry today to discuss threats of labour unrest to the company's US$115 million expansion programme.
In a statement on Friday, Dalley said he wanted to discuss with Jamalco's management all labour matters affecting the expansion programme. Jamalco is a 50-50 partnership between Alcoa Inc., the American aluminium giant, its managing partner, and the Jamaican Government.
The Minister said he was concerned about the likely implications the current disputes at the site could have on the expansion programme, and the potential for increased foreign exchange earnings and employment creation.
"The Minister emphasised the need to safeguard a stable labour environment which attracts and retains local and overseas investments, as well as increases employment opportunities," a release from the Ministry stated.
He said the country should strive toward the promotion of decent work, which included the protection of the rights of workers in the collective bargaining process and the efficiency and profitability of the enterprise which, he said, were "not mutually exclusive".
Dalley's decision followed the failure of his Ministry to convene a meeting between the National Workers Union and Caribbean Construction Co., (CCC), contractors on the Jamalco mudlake expansion site, after closure of the project last week Friday.
The NWU charged union-busting, after the mudlake project closed down throwing 64 workers out of a job, a day after they had elected the union as their bargaining agent. CCC gave no reason for withdrawing.
On Wednesday, the company informed the Ministry that it could not attend the meeting which the Ministry had planned to try and resolve the issue.
Several hundred workers employed by other contractors on the internal aspects of the expansion have struck twice since last week, also seeking union representation.
Both the NWU and the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union are seeking to represent the more than 1,000 workers on the internal expansion project. The workers are employed by several contractors including PAHK, Solid Rock Contractors, Jamaica Installation and Ducting, Automatic Computer System, F.C. Reynolds Contractors, Chicago Bridge Iron Co., ONXY Contractor and Trevor Dunkley and Co.
This had triggered fears of union rivalry, but the unions said on Friday that they had agreed to share bargaining rights and would be making a claim to that effect this week.
Following the decision last year to the lift bauxite levy, the Jamaican Government and Alcoa Inc. agreed to invest US$115 million in Jamalco's alumina refinery. The agreement is for the Jamalco plant to be expanded by 250,000 tonnes, pushing its capacity to 1.25 million tonnes.
