Acting Deputy General Secretary, Wayne Walrond (right), outlines some of the concerns of SSA workers while Industrial Relations Officer attached to the SSA, Roger Gibson, looks on.
SSA urged to meet NUPW
Fri, 04/08/2016 - 12:00am
THERE are rumblings at the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA).
Yesterday during a press conference held at the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Dalkeith headquarters, Acting Deputy General Secretary Wayne Walrond told the media that there are a number of areas that are affecting workers’ ability to carry out their jobs effectively. He also lamented there is a level of uncertainty about the future of the SSA which is affecting staff morale.
To this end, management of the SSA is being asked to urgently meet with the employees’ representative body to discuss and address some of the urgent matters affecting that State organisation.
One of the main areas of concern is an inadequate number of trucks, other equipment and resources which is impacting their ability to adequately service the island. “For several years, the NUPW has been making representation to the administration of the SSA to complement the fleet that has been ageing. There has been resistance to our request. As a consequence, we have reached a chronic stage where some days you only have eight trucks working.”
He said it has been estimated that 45 trucks are needed which would include trucks being off the road for servicing and maintenance. Walrond, while acknowledging there has been a fleet management study carried out, said maintenance staff should be brought into the decision-making process as to how many trucks are needed to service the island and the types of trucks that are needed.
He says that the inadequate trucks is compounded by the fact that other entities such as the National Conservation Commission, the Drainage Unit and the Ministry of Transport and Works are being called in to collect garbage and are paid overtime to do so, when the SSA workers could do the job. Walrond also charged that these groups are given transportation at night, when the SSA workers are not, which he described as discriminatory. He also charged that open-back vehicles can only collect a fraction of the load that a SSA compactor can carry.
Walrond told the media that in addition to insufficient resources, a pilot project set to cover garbage collection from St. Philip to St. Lucy all point to a move to privatise the state-owned SSA, to the chagrin of workers.
He also drew attention to a situation where the SSA is allegedly not honouring pay sheets for some members of staff, which were submitted by superintendents for the month of July last year.
“We can only come to the conclusion they are questioning the integrity of their own staff. They have the right if they are not well to report in and say they are not well that has happened across the public sector and other boards. If you are not well you call in and report it. “Not well” is treated as a sick day. We can’t understand why the SSA is asking us to prove their refusal not to honour pay sheets. This is the height of madness we are dealing with,” he exhorted.
The Union representative told the media that the time has come when the NUPW will do whatever it deems appropriate to address these grievances. (JH)