Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) workers staged a protest yesterday morning for safety gear following the refusal by management to replace equipment damaged on the job.
The workers also called for pay hikes, which they said they have been pleading for over the course of several years.
The workers, who gathered infront of the BBCI office on the West Coast of Berbice side of the bridge, related that their manager said they had already received their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) entitlement and they would have to purchase any replacements if needed.
One worker, Charlie Nedd, 27, who is an Assistant Driver of Number 4 Village, West Coast Berbice, explained, “Recently my safety boots damaged and they said you have to get one per year and if you have to have a next one you have to buy it on your own, which is not fair for we.”
Nedd said that he has been working at the company for over three years and in the past when the safety boots were damaged they would turn them in for new ones. However, the new manager has since informed them of a change in policy, which they are objecting to.
Stabroek News was told that at least three maintenance workers have been forced to work in dress shoes as they are unable to replace their damaged safety boots.
The workers explained that high quality safety boots typically last them about eight months based on the work they are required to carry out.
Permanand Mathur, a Mechanic/Driver with the bridge company’s maintenance department, said acknowledged that they receive high quality safety boots but given the amount of work necessary they get damaged. “The work on the bridge is mostly climbing up and down. You jump out, jump in, the guys in the boat doing maintenance, pontoon maintenance and stuff and the boots a damaged,” he said.
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), which represents the workers, criticised the decision by the BBCI management. “To send a worker to work without adequate protection opens the BBCI to unnecessary liability should the worker sustain an injury which could be mitigated by proper PPE,” the union said in a statement.
The GAWU further noted that the Section 46(1)(a) of the Occupa-tional Safety and Health Act says “an employer shall ensure that the equipment materials and protective devices and clothing as prescribed are provided.” As a result, it contended that the BBCI management and/or manager is either ignorant of the law or is ignoring the rights of the workers. “Whatever the case maybe it cannot be countenanced from any point of view,” it added.
Efforts were made to contact the manager who was present at the location yesterday but he was not available to meet with Stabroek News. However, Faizal Jaffarally, a BBCI Director, said he was informed of the protest yesterday morning and decided to head over immediately.
“After listening to the workers I am satisfied that some of the concerns are really genuine and we have spoken to management over and over that the issue of workers safety is paramount and they need to provide it,” he stressed.
Jaffarally, who said that he met with the management committee recently, requested the workers to give him two weeks’ time to ensure systems are in placed to deal with the issues.
Meanwhile, the workers yesterday stressed, that they are also in need of an improved salary scale as they noted that while cost of living has increased, their salaries remain the same. A representative from GAWU yesterday noted that the issue of the improved salary scale is currently at the board level.
