Sanitation workers are poised to receive long-awaited incentive payments by mid-July, following months of industrial unrest last year and negotiations over a revised performance-based pay scheme, Barbados TODAY can reveal.
Richard Greene, general secretary of the employees’ bargaining body, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), said only the assessment report for June remains to be submitted to the SSA before payments for the long-awaited scheme—which sparked a wildcat strike last year—can begin.
“It is expected that the first quarterly payment on the incentive plan should come mid-July. That is our expectation,” Greene told Barbados TODAY.
“The mandate of the Sanitation Service Authority and the services that they provide, are fairly expansive. So, we would want to ensure that all of the departments have submitted the report, so that it can have a positive impact on the calculations for the incentive plan.”
He gave an assurance that the union was continuing to engage with the management of the garbage collection and disposal entity on the Performance Incentive Plan.
“The NUPW can confirm that at its most recent discussion, the SSA confirmed that they are working on the performance reports for April and May; and at July 1, they are still awaiting the report for June to be in a position to accurately make their calculations in line with the Performance Incentive Plan,” Greene said.
“We want to reassure the staff that the NUPW continues to engage closely with the SSA management to make sure that they are meeting the company’s commitment to honouring the Performance Incentive Plan. At this point, we are giving the SSA the adequate time to assess the awaited report from the performance in June to be in a position to pay the incentive as soon as that final report comes in.”
Greene explained that while the authority did not specify when the June report would be submitted, a “reasonable amount of time” will be given.
The incentive plan has been a contentious issue for months. In mid-2024, workers, including truck drivers, loaders and administrative staff, staged a wildcat strike supported by the Caswell Franklyn-led Unity Workers Union (UWU), which is not recognised by SSA management. They demanded resolution of the incentive pay dispute and improvements in working conditions.
The SSA had declared the work stoppage a breach of protocol. The NUPW, as the recognised bargaining agent, instructed its members to return to work, while Franklyn insisted his members would remain on the picket line until their demands were addressed. However, all workers subsequently returned to their duties.
Earlier this year, the SSA revised its controversial scheme for workers, who last year suspended industrial action to allow for the development of a revamped plan to meet their demands.
The NUPW had previously granted the SSA additional time to revise the original incentive plan, which it had presented to the union. At that time, the union said it had asked the workers to give their employer a little more time to establish clear criteria for the scheme.
SSA Chairman Ramon Alleyne revealed in January this year that the revised plan had been submitted to the NUPW. He had requested that both parties return to the negotiating table in early February to finalise the new proposal.
Since that time, the union asked for yet another revision which has since been honoured by the authority.
(EJ)
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