WASA employee protest outside WASA Head Office in St Joseph yesterday.
Daily paid WASA workers, hoping that they will receive sick leave bonuses ahead of the Christmas holiday, staged a protest at the Water utility’s head office in St Joseph.
President of the National Union of Government and Federated Workers’ WASA section Andy Crichlow said it was just another instance of disrespect towards the daily paid workers.
“If you don’t have money there is a process one would go through. Don’t take daily paid people down to the wire who heavily dependent on that sick leave bonus to take care of their Christmas business, to then come and say we eh have,” he said.
Lambert: WASA workers’ bonus an entitlement, not a favour
NUGFW president general James Lambert. - SUREASH CHOLAI
President general of the National Union of Government and Federal Workers (NUGFW) James Lambert says sick leave bonuses, usually given to Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) workers in December, are not a favour.
He says it is an entitlement agreed to by management and the union in a collective agreement.
In an interview with Newsday on Tuesday, Lambert said workers gathered at WASA’s Farm Road, St Joseph office to be told why they did not get their bonus this month.
“It was not a protest,” Lambert insisted.
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Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales, right, chats with Paramin residents during a visit to the area earlier this month.
A major shake-up is expected to take place soon at state-owned Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), as Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales moves to make the organisation efficient come 2021.
Part of the restructuring exercise may lead to job losses, a cut in overtime, an overhaul of the management, and will include the introduction of technology to detect leaking pipelines and low water pressure in communities.
The disclosure came from Gonzales last week, just days after a detailed report on WASA’s lingering issues along with recommendations to transform the beleaguered organisation into a productive and profitable one was submitted to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for review. For decades, WASA has been plagued with a host of problems that no government has been able to address.
Duke on PSA voter irregularities : Talk to election officers
Friday 18 December 2020
Watson Duke, president-elect of the Public Service Association, celebrates with members of his new executive, after official results were confirmed on Thursday. - ROGER JACOB
Returning president of the Public Services Association (PSA) Watson Duke is urging disgruntled candidates and members to take up their concerns with the association s election committee, as he believes the voting process was free and fair.
The elections, held on Monday, came after three years of lawsuits raised when former candidate Gabriel Solomon questioned the validity of the PSA s voters list.
The elections were originally scheduled for November 23, but were delayed again to December 14 when High Court judge Nadia Kangaloo found duplications in the list presented by the association at the time.