On course: Garbage collectors incentive deal nears agreement

A new performance incentive deal for the island’s garbage collectors is expected to come into force on April 1, the workers’ bargaining body told Barbados TODAY exclusively on Friday.

The agreement aims to resolve a contentious issue that sparked industrial action last year, as workers demanded better incentives and working conditions. The industrial action was later suspended to allow for the development of a revamped plan to meet their demands.

General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Richard Greene said the union and the SSA top brass met on Thursday to examine the revised plan, which, pending further improvements that the state-owned enterprise (SOE) has been requested by the union to make, is expected to be fully agreed upon by the end of this month.

“I can report that the two parties have not reached a final agreement on the matter, but have made some positive steps toward completing acceptance of the performance incentive plan. We hope to settle it, then we can have agreement in place, to have the performance incentive plan for the start of the new financial year, April 1. That is the objective, to conclude it, to have the performance incentive plan to be effective on April 1,”

Greene told Barbados TODAY in an exclusive interview.

“I wouldn’t want at this stage to speak to the content of the proposal. We would allow the Sanitation Service Authority to see where they can tighten it, that would be fully acceptable to the NUPW on behalf of the staff of the SSA. We wouldn’t say they [outstanding matters] are insurmountable, but we think they are important, are germane to a reasonable performance incentive plan I think all parties can benefit from.”

Greene said the two sides will meet again shortly to try to wrap up the new deal.

He reasoned that while he didn’t expect the wait to be as long as previously, it was more important that the SSA had taken the time to reach this stage, rather than to have rushed the proposal and then had to backtrack.

Thursday’s meeting was attended by Greene, his deputy Wayne Walrond, and chairman of the SSA Ramon Allleyne and his management team.

A revised plan had been submitted to the workers’ bargaining agent with a request from Allleyne that both parties return to the negotiating table in early February to finalise the new proposal, but due to scheduling conflicts, those discussions ended up being held on Thursday.

The NUPW had previously granted the SSA additional time to revise the original incentive plan, which the garbage collection and disposal agency 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.

The revised plan was subsequently reviewed by the NUPW, and it was at Thursday’s talks that the union asked for some further tweaking to be done by the authority.

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. (Emmanuel Joseph)

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb