Gov’t optimistic Jamalco project won’t be disrupted
THE Government was optimistic last night there would be no labour disruption on the US$115-million expansion at the Jamalco alumina refinery in Clarendon, after a meeting yesterday with the leaders of unions seeking to represent workers employed specifically on the project.
In fact, the Administration, in a statement last night, was also upbeat that work would resume this week on construction of the plant’s new red mud lake where the contractor, Caribbean Construction Company (CCC), gave up the job late last month when the National Workers Union (NWU) won representational rights for the 64 employees CCC employed at the site.
Senior ministers, led by Prime Minister P J Patterson, met with union leaders to discuss the labour tension that has hung over the Jamalco project since the CCC’s decision and last night said that not only were the issues “fully ventilated” but “a number of initiatives agreed”.
“It is hoped that these initiatives will result in the resumption of work on the mud disposal system in the coming week,” the statement said.
Neither union nor Jamalco officials could be contacted for comment last night and it was not immediately clear if CCC would resume the contract which it apparently forfeited when it closed down the site on February 23 — the day after the NWU won the representational rights poll — and let go the workers.
CCC apparently feared that the union would demand for the labourers the same high wages paid to people directly employed in the bauxite/alumina sector, making the contract unprofitable. The NWU accused CCC of union busting.
In addition to the specific dispute of the red mud lake, more problems have been brewing over the main expansion programme where the NWU and the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) have been seeking to jointly represent over 300 workers currently employed on various aspects of the project. Up to 1,000 people are eventually expected to be employed on the expansion, to be directly hired by nearly a dozen sub-contractors rather than Jamalco.
The one-million tonne Jamalco refinery is owned 50:50 by the Government and Alcoa, with Alcoa being the managing partner.
The Government is keen to see this expansion, which would increase the plant’s output by up to 200,000 tonnes a year, go through as it would serve as a fillip to other operators here to follow suit in expanding and modernising the facilities so as to help improve Jamaica’s competitive position on the world alumina industry.
Last year, Jamalco became the first company to sign an agreement with the Government under which it would pay regular income tax, rather than the bauxite production levy — an output tax — in exchange for committing to the expansion.
Last night, the Government said: “The union officers pledged to work to ensure stability at the facility and to support the expansion programme which is vital to the national effort to achieve economic growth and job creation.”