Seventy-five workers identified for retrenchment from the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) are to be released by the end of this week.
However, the composition could change as some other colleagues have also volunteered to leave the Pine, St Michael Government-run entity.
In making the announcement at a press conference today, General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Senator Toni Moore said this number, which represents at least ten per cent of the 750-strong staff complement, is likely to end up at less or even be contained because several other employees have volunteered to go.
Senator Moore said once all of the voluntary separation information was in, management and the BWU may come to recognize that a worker who opted to leave from a particular section may make it possible for another colleague selected for retrenchment to stay.
“The final list . . . because as I told you there were a number of challenges . . . the current complement of the Water Authority is about 748 to 750 workers or so and the final impact through the restructuring programme may be in the region of 75 or so. If the figure is to be adjusted, it might be downward,” Senator Moore told reporters after a nine-hour meeting on Friday and follow-up talks yesterday afternoon.
Describing the negotiations as long, rigorous, difficult and painstaking, the union leader said the BWU would now be meeting with the water company workers on Wednesday morning at 8 o’clock at its Solidarity House headquarters to update them on the latest developments and get feedback on the way forward.
“We will meet with the workers here so we can go through more systematically, the process that had been engaging us . . . the point that we have reached, what brought us there and to see where there may be further areas where individuals would wish to have us explore,” she added.
Senator Moore also reported that even though the talks were rigorous, the BWU was satisfied that the BWA board made genuine attempts to consider alternative cost-cutting measures that included some “baseless” contracts.
“They have corrected those and they have also sought to embark on a process of collection of arrears that would also feed the bottom line in terms of intake,” she said.
The General Secretary also pointed out that this restructuring process with the BWA was not one where cuts were only made among the most vulnerable which comprises the bottom of the workforce.
“All levels of the authority have been impacted from management right down to general worker. That is one of the things that could easily be recognized that once the final numbers are seen that this was not one restructuring exercise where employees were only impacted at the bottom levels. This particular restructuring has impacted workers across all levels of the authority,” she emphasized.
But Senator Moore explained that this was only the first phase of the BWA’s restructuring programme while at the same time noting that the company would want to give its changes time to take effect and see where things go from there.
“They had signaled that there would be a second phase, or another phase . . . there may need to be another phase of restructuring down the road. But this is the first important step that they have taken to see how far that could take the water authority towards achieving the objectives that have been set. Like other statutory boards that have been separated from the responsibility of central government, they now have to keep their books current. So we will see how far this takes us,” she declared.
Meanwhile, the union leader said that having concluded the retrenchment process with the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the Rural Development Commission (RDC) the BWU is yet to hold “full” discussions with the Transport Board, Caves Of Barbados and the National Sports Council.
She said the Transport Board is still to submit a “full” programme of its planned restructuring to the union while Caves of Barbados has only made an initial signal of its intention to overhaul that company.
She noted that the recent retrenchments at the Transport Board represented its initial phase and was not part of their full restructuring programme. “Those were some, on the basis of the last-in first-out . . . people who were hired in areas that they felt immediately, they could start to examine those people for retrenchment,” pointed out the BWU General Secretary.
Senator Moore told reporters the union was currently preparing its members for the full roll out of the Transport Board’s restructuring over the next couple of years.
“So it is very safe to say that the restructuring programme will not finish before Christmas or immediately afterward, but it is as the information comes to us and as we are able to treat to it.
“In the case of the sports council, we had an initial meeting with them last Friday morning and we expect this week Thursday, which represents the end of the work week, to have a proposal from them that we could reflect on and have an opportunity for further interaction,” Senator said, adding that these talks could go into next year.
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No mass firings at BWA, says Halliday
General Manager of the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) Keithroy Halliday has dismissed reports that the state agency had recently severed 80 employees.
As a matter fact, Halliday said the very thought of sending home this many people was ludicrous, as it would essentially cripple operations at the BWA, which is already under pressure with the south coast sewage crisis and rehabilitation of the Bridgetown sewerage plant.
“That does not even make sense. Where would we find 80 persons to send home? If that happened, operations at the Barbados Water Authority would be crippled,” Halliday told Barbados TODAY on the fringes of today’s briefing at the Country Road, St Michael offices of Minister of Energy and Water Resources Wilfred Abrahams, to provide an update on the south coast sewage crisis.
Abrahams also supported the BWA boss’ position, shrugging off the claims of large-scale dismissals as nonsense.
Published on
August 10, 2018
Article by
Colville Mounsey
If it is one thing that the MIA AMOR MOTTLEY Barbados Labour Party Govt. can be counted on to do , IS NOT TO KEEP ITS WORD. You can bet your life on that.
And TONI MOORE HUSH! Wunna done sell out BLACK PEOPLE already.
Seeing that you have two jobs, General Secretary and Senator, how about giving up one of those JOBS to one of the fired workers so that the worker can have at least one job to help put food on his family table just like you and you would have one job, and that would be your contribution to the BLACK WORKERS YOU ALL HAVE SOLD OUT. What say you Miss duty free Mercedes Benz CAR BOUGHT AND MAINTAINED BY THE WORKERS CONTRIBUTIONS??
People call her ugly Betty now.Any one notice that her tone seems as thought she is really the one doing the sending home,not the one representing the workers.This retrenchment is really ugly like the union boss
Workers please forget the unions take your licks and hold on to your union dues.The unions in bed with the Government,no word from the private sector after the lion lay down with the lambs to suit they agenda
“Senator Moore also reported that…the BWU was satisfied that the BWA board made genuine attempts to consider alternative cost-cutting measures that included some “baseless” contracts.”
One such “baseless” contract was exposed in the October 28, 2018 edition of the Sunday Sun. Feast your eyes and appetite below:
“A plumbing company formed in February, 2016 was able to land a $5 million contract with the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) five months later even though it had tendered the highest bid.
“NATION investigations revealed that Dr David Estwick, the then Minister of Water Resource Management sent an email to former chairman Dr Atlee Brathwaite, on July 31, 2016, recommending that Ortus Plumbing and Plumbing Supplies, be granted the contract totalling $5 288 025.34, to provide pipes and fittings for 36 months to the BWA as part of its mains replacement programme.
“That decision was made less than a month after the Board had short-listed three other tenders out of ten local and overseas companies; and recommended that the BWA enter into negotiations with two – HD Supply Water Works, an American company with over 80 years experience, which had submitted a bid for US$1 588 825.00 and SCL Sales and Services Inc. a local company in operation since 2009 and which submitted a bid for US$1 683 099.50.”
That was when DLP cronies were large and in charge and wielded enormous power. The public would like to know who is the real fat-cat owner of fledgling Ortus Plumbing and Plumbing Supplies that was awarded a baseless overpriced contract, under the cover of darkness, that cost taxpayers an unnecessary $3.7 million (3 times) more.
I agree with you Poor Cat. The union boss sounds more like she is doing the laying off, than being the workers representative. What a darn shame!
Tell DEM.. CARL HARPER…once again you ARE on the ball…keep it up…you EXPOSE that CROOKED DEMOCRATIC LABOR PARTY from one end and I will REMIND their YARD FOWLS PIMPS and PALING COCKS about their doings from 2008-2018 and what DEM LOSERS in GEORGE STREET did ..selecting the TWO MOST EXPERIENCED LOSERS from a CONSORTIUM of DISGRUNTLED,DEJECTED and REJECTED LOSERS…lord have mercy…down dey in a DISARRAY and DEM OWLS,OCKS and IMPS here minding other peoples’ bizness.
Just now one PATTY will come here peep and see what Harry Turnover had to say this morning READ it and say that I am STALE by repeating the same thing over and over and that she is BORED..not knowing that I can also say that SHE too repeats that SAME phrase OVER and OVER and that the meat in her PATTY can also be described as STALE…PATTY all I can tell you that if you are so prone to boredom….get another dildo and make it a threesome and see how it goes from there.
HALLIDAY said in August 2018 (as reported by Barbados Today):
“No mass firing at BWA…..”
“That does not even make sense. Where would we find 80 persons to send home? If that happened, operations at the Barbados Water Authority would be crippled” ….as somebody let the cat out of the bag early!!!!
GENERAL MANAGER of the BWA TONI MOORE said”Seventy-five workers identified…,….”(for firing, my words).
“in making the announcement at a press conference today, General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Senator Toni Moore said this number, which represents at least ten per cent of the 750-strong staff complement, ….”
hahahahaha
Boy, what a difference an awarded Senate Seat can make. I bet she is going to make sure that all the fired people are DLP supporters.
The MIA AMOR MOTTLEY–fication of the public sector continues apace. With the kind help of the BARBADOS WORKERS UNION.
Maybe the DLP clowns should have used better judgement (if there was any) in hiring Keithroy Halliday, if he is now proving to be a bungling embarrassment to the BWA.
Those jokers could not even have done a good job of recruiting and selecting a general manager for the BWA, based on what Carson C. Cadogan is saying above. Halliday is your man. Take full ownership for having him at the helm of the Authority.
But it was the sign of the times under that Damn Lying Party. Can we have expected anything good to come out of Nazareth? Wishful thinking!
They got nuff slackers in BWA, two and three people doing one job. 75 going is not nearly enough to stop the hemerroging at BWA. Wunna should start with the chairwoman
Yes Carl Harper ,I was about to ask WHO HIRED KEITHROY HALLIDAY…hope he is one of the 10%…PM MIA ..it is time that you put ONE OF YOUR OWN THERE..he is NOT only embarrassing those who put him there,he is also EMBARRASSING HIMSELF in what I would called a BACK DATED EMBARRASSMENT.
Black people vs black people how interesting, this is just what the white plantocracy want, enough of this back and forth and deal with what is really bugging bajans, the rich getting richer due to BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES mismanaging OUR MONIES then turning round and blaming we, STOP the foolish backward political punches Barbados is hurting due to these men and women fulling their guts and walking way scotch free. keep cussing wunna out each other lol
@CCC – “That does not even make sense. Where would we find 80 persons to send home? If that happened, operations at the Barbados Water Authority would be crippled,” Halliday told Barbados TODAY on the fringes of today’s briefing at the Country Road, St Michael offices of Minister of Energy and Water Resources Wilfred Abrahams, to provide an update on the south coast sewage crisis.
Abrahams also supported the BWA boss’ position, shrugging off the claims of large-scale dismissals as nonsense.
Published on
August 10, 2018
You not easy at all Carson C Codagan.
I can only feel sorry for guys like Halliday and Abrahams. Everything these guys say in public always comes back to haunt them.
As a matter fact, Halliday said the very thought of sending home this many people was ludicrous, as it would essentially cripple operations at the BWA, which is already under pressure with the south coast sewage crisis and rehabilitation of the Bridgetown sewerage plant.
Rehabilitation of the Bridgetown plant is completed.
HARRY U ARE NOT SO SMART..U ARE LIKE AN ECHO……GO FIND SOME EMPLOYMENT…AND U EEP SAYING SHE…U HAV ENO IDEA WHO I AM AT ALL
Harry…You are sick and perverted…use ur common sense man
If the DLP is responsible for HALLIDAY, who is responsible ABRAHAMS???
“Abrahams also supported the BWA boss’ position, shrugging off the claims of large-scale dismissals as nonsense.”
Abrahams agreed there would be no lay offs!!!!!!
If anyone from the MIA AMOR MOTTLEY Barbados Labour Party Govt. tell you to walk, RUN LIKE HELL!!!!!
Patty you should tell Harry to tell the people how he know that a dildo does alleviate boredom.
…and how YOU RODNEY CALLENDER know that the REAL thing alleviates boredom…PATTY you ask him…sounds like the man that HORN YOU.
PATTY now says after ALL this time that SHE IS NOT A WOMAN.PATTY if I were to go back and extract comments about OTHER people MOSTLY WOMEN referring to YOU..YES YOU PATTY as… SHE..HER…the yard fowl woman what would be YOUR REPLY? how come after EVERYONE was referring to you as a SHE all this time,…SUDDEN SO… you realized you are a man now?…or were you ALWAYS a man but didn’t have the BALLS to say so.
Womanman…..manwoman, sheshe, shehe,heshe or whatever another dildo would still make it a threesome…hey.. almost forgot…now that you have FINALLY REVEALED your SEXUALITY ya got an INSTANT ADMIRER in one RODNEY CALLENDER…see how he rush in with the dildo talk and threesomes?
Include Mr Halliday on that list of immediate disconnections.
…rush in after the dildo talk and threesomes.