Union leaders praise NICIL for firm action in garnering payment from Bosai

Two prominent union Leaders have praised NICIL for its role in being able to extract a three million US dollars dividend payment from Bosai Guyana.
This comes some weeks after Bosai’s General Manager Eric Yu handed over the payment to NICIL’s Chief Executive Officer, Colvin Heath-London.

General Secretary of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GBGWU) and a very vocal campaigner for the strict monitoring of foreign companies, Lincoln Lewis, admitted that he like many others was very pleased with the payment. He said that it certainly augurs well for the fostering of continued and improved relationships. He, however, said that Government must remain steadfast in their vigilance to ensure that it is not just a one-time payment and nothing happens after, but rather, that there would be closer and adequate monitoring of Bosai and other foreign companies.

Lewis stressed that the efforts of Heath-London, should not be forgotten, as it must be recorded that it was a direct result of his ability in effectively and efficiently negotiating, that led to Bosai remitting the dividend payment.
“I firmly believe that the efforts of Mr Colvin Heath-London are worthy of commendation and that all concerned should not lose sight of what he has done and has been doing as the Government representative on the Board at Bosai. It is through his excellent negotiating skills and techniques backed by the great support of the Finance Minister, it resulted in the government being able to garner this very important payment,” he said.

The GBGWU General Secretary disclosed that for a long time he has been campaigning for a government representative to also sit on the RUSAL board. He stressed that several of the challenges faced with the Russian company can be effectively addressed in a timely manner with a representative at the board meetings. He disclosed that his calls fell on deaf ears and he hopes that Government would see the wisdom in his suggestion with the results that they secured with Bosai.
“RUSAL another major company who can also make their payments, have not been doing so and what is heart troubling is that while Bosai has a government representative on their board, RUSAL doesn’t have, and it is time that Government recognises that this has to be immediately addressed,” Lewis declared.

Meanwhile, President of the very Union, Leslie Gonsalves echoed similar sentiments stressing that Colvin Heath-London through his negotiations has demonstrated that he understands clearly what government is looking for. He said that his Union continues to be impressed with how NICIL and its officials have been addressing several pertinent issues, declaring that Guyana is at a better place because of the significantly high level of professionalism, expertise, commitment and dedication it has been able to garner from some of its personnel.
“We at GBGWU are impressed and as President, I commend Heath-London, as his track record says it all. I commend the government also for ensuring that it was able to secure someone like Heath-London, as he has certainly demonstrated that their choice and selection of him was well-deserving,” Gonsalves said.

He, however, expressed the view that the Government should utilize the skills and expertise more of the NICIL acting CEO. He said that the CEO can do more for labour relations and other technical matters. “The expertise and skills of this excellent negotiator should not be wasted. As a Union man for a number of years his ability and skills in negotiating is immediately noticed in how he does his negotiation and it is the view of GBGWU that he can help in other areas, especially with the current challenges being experienced at RUSAL,” Gonsalves stressed.
Bosai’s General Manager had said shortly after remitting the payment that his company has always been committed and dedicated to having all dividend-related matters and issues settled.
“I must commend the management of NICIL as they played a pivotal role in having this dividend payment addressed. While we have some concerns and they have not all been addressed, we are satisfied that the negotiation led by NICIL was one that saw everyone involved coming to a consensus,” Yu had said.