Ramis Mambetaliev, the Chairman of the Trade Union Committee of Kumtor Operating Company, addressed an open letter to the President and Chief Executive Officer of Centerra Gold Inc. Scott Perry.
The letter concerns an issue affecting the interests of the labor collective of Kumtor Gold Company CJSC (KGC), and is related to the blocking by Centerra Gold Inc. in mid-May 2021 of employees’ access to global information systems and services of KGC, including the iScala payroll program.
«Currently, there is a difficult situation regarding payroll of employees. Due to the loss (absence) of accounting data on wages, there is a high risk of a delay in the payment of vacation pay, sick leave, etc. for the calculation of which historical data are required, as well as wages of employees; delays in the issuance of income certificates and other personal documents to employees (former and current). In connection with such actions, the rights of KGC employees and the norms of the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic were significantly violated,» the letter says.
We believe that the legal rights and interests of employees should not be infringed upon. Trade unions and labor collectives fulfill all their obligations under the signed 2021-2022 Collective Agreement.
Ramis Mambetaliev
According to him, despite the disagreements that arose between Centerra Gold Inc. and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic on the Kumtor project, the introduction of temporary external management in KGC, nevertheless, the Company’s personnel continue to perform their labor duties, including those that ensure the uninterrupted operation of the Kumtor Mine and the functioning of other divisions of the Company.
«We believe that our employees should receive remuneration for their work in a timely manner and in full. Employees should not be «hostages» in the current circumstances and be deprived of their right to a workplace, to receive wages, benefits and advantages stipulated by in the Collective Agreement. In this connection, we believe it will be fair, if Centerra Gold Inc. will return accesses to payroll systems,» the Chairman of the KOC Trade Union Committee stresses in the letter.
«To fulfill the terms of labor and collective agreements, in the name of preserving and strengthening social partnership between the Company and the Trade Unions, we kindly ask for your assistance in providing KGC with access to the iScala program databases and other systems serving the calculation of wages of KGC employees in the near future. We hope and expect that all the disagreements that have arisen between the parties will be resolved in a constructive and legal manner. We, employees of KGC, are worried about our Company, about our jobs, about our future and the future of our families, and we hope that Centerra Gold Inc. acting in the interests of KGC employees, will return access to databases on the calculation of wages of KGC employees,» Ramis Mambetaliev notes.
