PARAMARIBO, Suriname – The deputy minister of Health, Welfare and Labour, Raj Jadnanansing, says he intends to hold talks with representatives of the US-owned gold mining company, Newmont Suriname, amid reports that the multinational intends to lay off 15 percent of its work force.
Deputy minister of Health, Welfare and Labour, Raj Jadnanansing, meeting with officials of the union representing workers at Newmont Suriname,Jadnanansing has held talks with at least one union official, Joël Panka, who has said that the decision to lay off 10 to 15 percent of the workforce would amount to at least 200 employees.
The company says it has 1,550 people currently working at the Merian site. Newmont Suriname, previously known as Suriname Gold Company, is a fully-owned subsidiary of Newmont that is operated on behalf of Suriname Gold Project CV, a Suriname limited partnership.
In July, Newmonth, which is described as the world’s largest listed gold miner, issued a statement indicating that “since 2021, gold production at Merian has declined 48 percent while operating costs have increased by 50 percent, challenges that have put pressure on the long-term sustainability of operation”.
Panka said Newmont has still not provided concrete information on the exact number of layoffs or a social programme to mitigate the consequences for the affected employees.
Panka said that the workers believe that Newmont is not making a loss, but is applying its own interpretation of the cost price calculation for gold production in relation to the world market price. According to the union official, the cost price is still below market price, making the announced layoffs economically unnecessary and that employees should not be made redundant solely to increase profits.
Jadnanansing said that the Dismissal Committee has not yet received a formal request for a dismissal permit from Newmont and should an application be submitted, it will be carefully reviewed.
He said that the Dismissal Committee will not make hasty decisions and that the company will have to convincingly demonstrate why redundancies are necessary. During the processing of the dismissal application, both the employer and the union will be heard extensively.
