CEPEP workers plead to get back their jobs after mass firing

AS contractors submitted their final timesheets, marking the end of their employment under the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP), several of their workers called on the government to rehire them.

An estimated 10,500 workers had relied on CEPEP for their livelihoods, and many said they are now facing an uncertain future.

Among them, Vishnu Maharaj, 50, of Tarodale, is a father of three and the sole breadwinner for his family, including a 16-year-old son with cerebral palsy.

“I have worked with CEPEP for 25 years,” Maharaj said, standing outside CEPEP office at Factory Road in Ste Madeleine on June 30.

“To lose your work just so — it is hard. No one is going to hire me at my age. I have no other income and no one in my family to help me.”

Maharaj, who is also paying a mortgage on his HDC home, described the termination as devastating.

“Although the CEPEP money was low, I was still happy with it. I wish I could get my job back. I want to work. We work hard on the job.”

Also affected is Emmanuel Browne, 40, of St Clements Junction, who lost his home to a fire over two years ago and is struggling to rebuild while raising his two-year-old son.

“I have my house to build. I am trying my best. Whoever they are hiring as the contractor, I want a job, ” Browne said.

The termination has left an estimated 360 contractors and 10,500 workers unemployed.

Contractors received termination letters on June 27, with immediate-effect dismissal letters from CEPEP’s office. The letters were signed by Keith Eddy, the CEO.

As part of the process, the contractors were instructed to return company property, including signage.

One contractor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said how the dismissals were handled raised serious questions.

“Every other Monday, we drop off our timesheets as usual,” he said.

“But there is no CEPEP board active right now. I want to know who instructed the CEO to sign those termination letters. Was it a politician? Did he act alone?”

Most other contractors at the office declined to speak, visibly frustrated and disheartened as they handed in their final paperwork.

In response to terminations, Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles hosted a legal clinic on June 29 at the Lisas Gardens Community Centre in Couva, where contractors were given free legal advice on their options moving forward.

That same day, Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath once again defended the government’s decision during a media conference at UNC headquarters in Chaguanas.

He highlighted that CEPEP contracts were with contractors — not individual workers — and alleged serious mismanagement under the previous administration.

Padarath said the programme had been flagged by the Ministry of Finance’s Central Audit Committee for its hiring practices and other issues.

He further accused the former government of employing “ghost workers”. He vowed that the current administration would not repeat what he called the “political prostitution of CEPEP like the PNM did.”

Padarath said a transparent registration process for new contractors will be announced soon and that official information will be disseminated through formal channels.