[UPDATED] Drainage Division south workers complain of lack of PPE

Daily-paid workers at the Ministry of Works’ Drainage Division, South, said they have not been properly compensated for over seven years.

On Monday morning, about 15 of the 50 staff gathered at the ministry’s office on SS Erin Road in Penal to vent their frustrations as their union, the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW), met with management.

One worker, Anil Harripersad, said they have been pleading with the ministry for basic equipment and sanitation to do their jobs.

“From 2013 till now, we have not gotten any equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) like boots, gloves, back straps, sanitisers or coveralls to work in the river. This has been happening for many years now and we have been trying to get it addressed within the department.

“For the last two years discussions stopped because of the pandemic, and now that the restrictions are lifted we hope our concerns are dealt with.”

Harripersad said it was unfortunate that workers had to put their health and safety at risk as their jobs required them to be in dirty drains and rivers, which left them exposed and vulnerable.

For years, he said, the concerns about the lack of health and safety equipment had been chalked up to no funding from central government. Another concern was the non-payment of travel allowances, which the workers claimed have not been paid since 2015.

The workers told Newsday they were further aggrieved because they were not allowed into the meeting at which they were represented by their shop steward.

The anxious men waited almost three hours for the meeting to finish, but were not satisfied with the outcome.

As the union left the meeting to address the workers, representatives caught sight of Newsday staff and refused to speak with them.

One, who did not want to be identified, said, “I am not entitled to make any statements to the press, and if that is the situation here, you would have to get your shop steward, who was in the meeting, to tell you all what took place.

“Any release that needs to go to the press must come from our senior offices, and I am strong on that.”

The workers asked him for details of the meeting but he insisted he was not empowered to make any statement to the media, and walked off.

Shop steward Steve Bridgemohan then told the workers the issues would be dealt with within a month.

“We keep buying PPE and we are not being compensated for it. There has been no resolution to our concerns, and they keep telling us the Government has no money.

“We are taking a stand for ourselves. We will just sit here until the right PPE (is provided) and what is owed to us is paid.”

Bridgemohan added that it was unfair that workers had to use their personal finances to buy PPE, which was budgeted for in the division and the ministry’s annual budget.

Newsday tried to contact NUFGW president James Lambert but calls went to voicemail.

The Ministry of Works, in an e-mail in response to enquiries by Newsday on the matter, said, “The Ministry of Works and Transport is aware of the situation and the matter is currently being addressed by the relevant parties. The minister and, by extension, the ministry are always amenable to discussing the concerns of workers with the goal of developing workable solutions, where an issue exists. In this matter, the ministry is guided by a procurement process which is being followed, and the issue is expected to be resolved imminently.”