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The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) has been forced to temporarily replace Director of Human Resources and Development Jacqueline Belgrave, who up to today, was still not back on the job although being reinstated some nine days ago.

In an internal memorandum dated July 4, 2019 and addressed to all staff, General Manager Keithroy Halliday informed them that Senior Human Resources Officer for Pensions, Employee Benefits and Compensation, Grantley Small would  now be in charge of the department.

“Please be advised that Mr Grantley Small, Senior Human Resources Officer, Pensions, Employee Benefits and Compensation will oversee the functioning of the Human Resources Management and Development Department until further notice,” the memo stated.

Almost two weeks ago, Belgrave was fired by the board of the authority amidst a growing fracture in relations between the board and employees and the Barbados Worker’ Union (BWU).

The decision immediately prompted threats of strike action by the unionised workers. Minister of Water Resources Management Wilfred Abrahams called a meeting of the board and the BWU on the Sunday before the threatened action in an apparent move to stave off any possible strike.

The meeting agreed that Belgrave would be reinstated immediately and the board would not get involved in the day-to-day running of the company, but would allow the general manager to do his job and would follow all protocols and procedures for the proper conduct of employee relations.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb