Duke wants meeting with ag Chief Immigration Officer

PRESIDENT of the Public Services Association (PSA) Watson Duke is calling on acting Chief Immigration Officer Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews to meet and review the way in which workers employed with the Airports Authority (AA) are being treated.

He made the call after a protest outside Swissport Cargo Services in Piarco on Monday, over what Duke described as discriminatory action against workers from the company and employees from the AA, Customs and Excise and the Civil Aviation.

The issue of discrimination against workers arose when employees with Swissport complained about the conditions they were being forced to work under. “Swissport in TT has been treating workers very differently than elsewhere in the world. Swissport is an international company and should have benchmark standards as it concerns employees,” Duke said during the conference.

He said despite requests to meet with management before Carnival, they were only “engaged in frivolous talks.” He said employees continue to be without grievous procedures and no clear rights as to their employment status. Duke said workers were operating without specific lunch periods and breaks during the day

“They are told whenever it is quiet, take a break. One worker did that and was dismissed. When will you start following the minimum wages act that stipulates there must be breaks and rest periods. Are they rostered and are they identified. Employees are made to buy uniforms. New workers have reported that they were forced to wear uniforms that senior workers had worn before.

“They are putting money into a health plan that seems to be a plan with holes. They are asking for the terms and conditions of the health plan and the family coverage plan. We have people who have put money in, terminated and not receiving anything back. Sometimes they apply for their family, but were unable to collect any compensation,” he said.

Duke said workers forced to buy personal protective equipment, had sick leave deducted from their pay even though they were permanent, and forced to take one week vacation each year. Efforts by Newsday to reach management of Swissport for a comment proved futile.

“The workers are unhappy and we are standing in solidarity with duty managers who have been downgraded and where management was seeking to have them placed in a separate bargaining unit,” he said. He said airport workers have been owed payments for several years. Several attempts to contact Gandhi-Andrews on her cell phone and office line were unsuccessful.