WASA workers protest over 'illegal' register

Daily-paid workers at the WASA Central Workshop Facilities protested outside the organisation's head office in St Joseph on Wednesday.

They were objecting to the implementation of what they called an illegal time and attendance register and subsequent disciplinary action.

Russell Mohammed, secretary of the WASA Workers Section, National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW), said the workers were protesting out of frustration.

He said management had "implemented an illegal mandate...to bring a time and attendance register," which the workers condemned.

Mohammed said they had been told "to come in any time that they want and sign any time that they want. They have been instructed to leave when they want...workers can stay home a couple days and come back and sign this time and attendance register as though they were present for those days, and also register a time on the register." He said the workers had documentation of that.

He also claimed some workers "have been away from the compound on their business and would have come with their sick leave (certificates) and had been told, 'Do not submit any sick leave, go to the time and attendance and register, dispose of that sick leave, and sign in for the days you were not here, and put a time to this.'"

Workers who have said they are not going to submit this to a time and attendance register, he said, "have been ridiculed, maligned and blacklisted to the extent where they have taken away these workers’ pay for four fortnights consecutively.”

Mohammed said the workers have not been paid for those four fortnights despite numerous appeals to management.

“We have written to the director of human resources, to the office of the executive director, Lennox Sealey – no response. We have written to the newly-installed acting CEO – no response.

"We have only received two pieces of correspondence from HR which said workers must subject themselves to the time and attendance register, and it said also based on some discussion, we would work the matter out.

"We want to clarify that there was no meeting on April 26 for them to suggest that any discussion was held, so what they’re purporting is to force the union to neglect their responsibility. But that will never happen. We are calling for an immediate investigation into this time and attendance register, which was done unilaterally without any consultation or discussion with the stakeholders.”

He said the workers were further frustrated as they had not received money owed to them.“They have not been paid their sick leave bonus, and there are outstanding negotiations, 2014-2016, 2017-2019, 2020-2022. These negotiations have not been settled and management has failed to come to the negotiating table to negotiate these outstanding terms and conditions.

"The Prime Minister would have said just recently that the tax exemption, based on the legality in the parliamentarians' and the public service contract, is a legal entitlement, and it’s the same thing that goes for the daily rated workers of NUGE (National Union of Government Employees) in WASA, that their sick leave bonus is part of their legal entitlement and they are entitled to it, and entitled to it now.”

Mohammed called for the chairman, the line minister and the Prime Minister to intervene.

“We call on them to stop the haemorrhage that has been caused by this illegal mandate that has been implemented by the dictates, controls and manoeuvres...to stop this leakage of the (money of the) people of TT, and their common wealth. This responsibility is a fiduciary one and they have taken it to trifle it and downplay it."

Even in a pandemic, he said, "You have a responsibility for accountability, so you cannot hide behind covid19 and implement a time and attendance register for people to do what they want. This group of workers have said to the management that they aren’t going to sign any time and attendance register, because it is fraud, and they will not commit that atrocious act on the people of TT.”

When contacted, WASA’s communications manager Daniel Plenty said the company would issue an official release on Wednesday but none was received by Newsday up to 7 pm.