More than 300 C.O. Williams construction workers have gone on strike after pay negotiations with management broke down, halting operations and prompting union intervention by the government’s top labour official.
The workers, represented by the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), began their protest at about seven at the Lears, St Michael base, after rejecting the company’s latest wage offer. BWU Deputy General Secretary Dwaine Paul confirmed that the strike was a direct response to stalled salary talks.
“The action is in direct response to the company’s positions put at the negotiation table. The workers are unhappy and dissatisfied with the response offered to date on the matter of negotiations,” he said.
He explained that the primary issue in dispute was wages and salaries.
“Our dispute right now is relating to wages and salaries, and the union has taken the decision, based on the action and the response coming from the company, that this matter should also be escalated to the office of the chief labour officer,” he said.
Negotiations between the company and the union began on April 1. As of Thursday, Paul said the matter had been referred to the chief labour officer, and the union was awaiting instructions to determine whether workers should resume duties. Up to press time, it was unclear whether the workers had returned to work later in the day or if operations would resume on Friday, as Paul could not be reached for an update.
“Until such time as we are able to have a position on the way forward regarding the discussion on wages and salaries for the workers, either at a domestic level or at the level of the chief labour officer, unfortunately, the services of the workers will be unavailable to the company,” he said.
Defending the workers’ demand for better pay, Paul described their labour as among the most physically demanding in the country. “What type of work? Hard work. Very, very hard work. Anybody that understands construction knows that workers involved in construction are put to work under some of the most gruelling conditions that exist. It is largely outdoor work, and it is working in uncomfortable and sometimes very dirty conditions.”
He continued: “When the rain is falling, the guys don’t sit down. When the sun is hot, they don’t sit down. So it is that type of work that these workers have to endure. All we are saying is that fair has to be fair. The workers have been asked to go above and beyond and every day they deliver, and based on that, we believe that the matters related to compensation should be settled amicably and settled quickly.”
Paul indicated that this was not the first time workers at C.O. Williams had resorted to industrial action over salary negotiations. “This is the third time that this has happened in the past couple of years,” he said. “If we have a situation where we have to be repeating action, then we have to look at the quality of the resolutions that have been put forward and how those resolutions have been honoured. Enough is enough.”
He added that the issues affecting the construction sector extended beyond C.O. Williams and signalled the union’s intention to call a national meeting with construction workers to discuss widespread challenges in the industry.
“This is not the first set of action that we’ve seen in construction and not the first set of disruption that we’ve seen in construction. There’s a signal that we do have some serious issues impacting the sector,” he said. “We can’t continue to have a situation where the benefits of the sector are distributed in such a way that one group of people can change their lifestyle so significantly that they move from one class spectrum to super class spectrum, whereas those that are doing the brunt of the work are still struggling day to day to meet basic needs.”
Paul said the BWU would continue to pursue “all avenues” to ensure workers received fair treatment and appropriate compensation.
“The workers believe that they deserve to have a fair share and they want a fair response from their company. We are awaiting a response from the chief labour officer, whose office has been notified of the work stoppage, and we will go from there,” he said.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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