SSA workers could get wish for increased hazard pay

By Anesta Henry

Workers of the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) may receive an increase in hazard pay once negotiations between management and the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) are completed.

NUPW’s Deputy General Secretary Wayne Walrond told Barbados TODAY that the SSA board has agreed to review internal finances with the intention of making favourable adjustments to hazard pay for workers.

“The National Union of Public Workers is pleased that we have been able to make some progress in recent talks with the board of the SSA on a number of matters relating to SSA workers. The matters include looking at the outstanding appointments of staff and there is a commitment to finalise that process,” he said.

“We are also looking at an internal arrangement of looking at the hazard pay being increased. We made the submission to the Ministry of Public Service but, in the interim, the board has determined that they will look at their fiscal space and make some offer. But any comprehensive increase would mean that it would have to go to the Ministry of Public Service.

“And we have also been able to secure success in the conversion of the persons who work with maintaining the trucks to be properly designated and in the issues of uniforms and so forth,” the NUPW official added.

Four months ago, hundreds of SSA workers downed tools to demand wage, hazard pay and washing allowance increases and protested against alleged ill-treatment by management. 

That October 2022 action led to a meeting between SSA management and the NUPW.

Walrond said the union will update workers on the progress made in negotiations with the SSA management at the Wildey, St Michael depot, at 6 a.m. on Thursday.

“We have made progress and we want to ensure that this is communicated to the workers because there was an issue previously that workers were saying ‘yes you may be doing things for us but you need to inform us so that we are up-to-date with the work the NUPW is doing’,” he said.

In early November 2022, scores of SSA workers indicated they would be joining the Unity Workers’ Union (UWU) after expressing dissatisfaction with the level of representation by the NUPW. 

When questioned about how this had affected NUPW membership, Walrond said he was not aware of any “massive impact”.

However, the deputy general secretary said that as the workers’ bargaining agent the NUPW remained committed to ensuring that SSA employees are properly represented. 

“Therefore, we would not be sidetracked by any notion that a few workers are exercising their constitutional right to associate with another union…. As the recognised trade union and the accredited bargaining agent, we will continue to give rigorous representation. 

“I would say that over the years, there has always been the issue of sanitation workers getting fair pay to reflect the nature of the work; this is a global issue. But if we are looking at more recent times in terms of the representation, say from the latter half of last year, we have been making vigorous representation to have the issues looked at,” Walrond said. 

He said all SSA employees, including workers at Westbury Cemetery, St James Cemetery, Christ Church Cemetery and Bushy Park Cemetery are required to attend Thursday’s meeting. 

Workers at the Mangrove Landfill and those assigned to the Bagatelle metal dump are also invited to attend the session. 

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb