Sanitation workers on Wednesday launched a fourth round of industrial action in two weeks, deepening a pay dispute that threatens to paralyse waste collection across Barbados during the key Crop Over weekend climax.
Despite assurances from the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) that rubbish collection will not be disrupted over the holiday weekend, and expectation that the workers will be back on the job on Thursday, frustration among staff persists.
Last Thursday, workers launched a two-day strike that brought islandwide rubbish collection to a halt. That was followed by another disruption this week, on Monday, when workers walked off the job in the morning but returned to work in the afternoon pending the outcome of a high-level meeting set for Tuesday. But when National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) officials briefed SSA workers on the meeting’s outcome around 6 a.m. Wednesday, discontent erupted again. Although some workers eventually resumed duties, frustration remained widespread.
The matter escalated to the Labour Department. But Acting Chief Labour Officer Wayne Sobers clarified that negotiations between the SSA and the NUPW have not broken down.
“No dispute has been declared by either side,” Sobers confirmed in a statement. “The work stoppage resulted from a misunderstanding of the basis on which the calculation of the performance incentive payment was made.”
Sobers said the incentive will be paid quarterly and that both parties have agreed to meet again to revise the calculation method for the July–September quarter. He urged that the issue be resolved through “social dialogue” and expressed confidence that normal work would resume on Thursday.
The incentive scheme lies at the heart of the controversy. Introduced in mid-2024 to improve productivity and performance, it has undergone multiple revisions following worker pushback. A strike in 2024 led by the Unity Workers’ Union forced the first review of the system, and the NUPW has since been engaged in ongoing negotiations to address workers’ concerns.
When Barbados TODAY visited the SSA Wildey depot on Wednesday, workers were openly criticising the incentive system, especially its reliance on bin-tracking technology. They reiterated that the system does not account for untracked waste, resulting in unfair pay outcomes.
“They only tracking them black bins. But the whole of Barbados don’t have black bins,” said one worker. “You’ve got three or four parishes without them and we still taking up the rubbish.”
He continued: “Them bins can only hold so much — people still putting out the old bins too. If we leave them behind, people will complain. But they say the incentive only counts if it’s in the new bins.”
The worker gave an example where entire communities were cleaned, but the tracking system only registered a handful of bins.
“That’s a disadvantage,” he said.
Several workers called for the incentive to be tied to landfill tonnage, which is already weighed and recorded upon truck entry, while others argued for across-the-board salary increases or a shift to fixed, rather than performance-based, incentives.
Some workers also made a direct appeal to Prime Minister Mia Mottley to intervene. But during a book signing event on Wednesday night at Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Mottley told journalists she could not step in at this stage as there was a process that had to be followed.
SSA Chairman Ramon Alleyne expressed optimism that operations would normalise quickly following Wednesday’s meeting.
“The meeting was held today under the auspices of the chief labour officer. The parties would have stated a clear basis for the views that they each hold on the matter,” Alleyne said. “I believe the intervention should offer some hope of the staff returning to normal operations come tomorrow . . . . There won’t be any further intervention or disruption from the office.”
NUPW Deputy General Secretary Wayne Walrond offered more insight into what transpired at Tuesday’s meeting, saying the payment for the first quarter—April to June—had already been made. He said discussions were “cordial” and focused on reviewing and potentially increasing the incentive for the current quarter.
“We were able to put something on the table that the chairman could consider and improve the incentive pay for the 1st of July down to the 30th of September,” Walrond stated. “The chairman indicated that it would have to be informed by the data . . . but with favourable information, he has no objection to increasing the base.”
Still, Walrond acknowledged that workers were hoping for an immediate increase, not a deferred one. That unmet expectation, he believes, triggered Wednesday’s protest.
“Obviously, it didn’t come with the immediate demands of the increase of the first quarter and the immediate increase in pay. Some workers were incensed,” he said.
The NUPW official noted that many workers eventually returned to the job, though he could not confirm whether all had resumed duties. He urged workers to allow the union to lead negotiations rather than taking matters into their own hands.
“They still need to be led and guided. As the equity bargaining agent . . . we said several times, ‘allow the union to follow the industrialisation process and negotiate for you’,” he said. “Taking it into their own hands . . . would not bring the result they’re looking for.”
However, Walrond did not mince words in saying the workers need better pay.
“We definitely know they deserve more pay,” he stressed. “We totally agree 110 per cent that $500 a week is not adequate for a sanitation worker, given what they face.”
He described better wages as a “long-term permanent solution”, unlike the conditional nature of incentive payments and allowances. Walrond said the union is committed to proposing a viable salary increase.
He also sought to clarify that the current incentive scheme was not a union initiative but a government-devised system.
“This was an offer put by the government . . . .We were not driving the negotiation on this particular matter. It was initiated by the government,” he explained.
Acknowledging that the union must improve its communication with members, Walrond said: “We admit there should probably be a number of meetings or so to explain what is coming, what are the rates, and really have a discussion about what are the rates. So . . . we need a lot more communication so that when these things roll out, people are informed.”
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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