TCL Guyana employees complain about unhealthy working environment
COVID-19
Workers attached to Mexico’s global firm CEMEX and its subsidiary, Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) Guyana Incorporated are dissatisfied with the manner in which the management is handling the COVID-19 situation.
The workers have contended that despite the company preaching about safety, it does not have a plan to deal with staff if one is to contract the virus.
Mexico’s global firm CEMEX, and its subsidiary, Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) Guyana Incorporated Office in Guyana
“This is what they always preach throughout their operations and all of their plans. Now in relations to the coronavirus, we all know that it is a pandemic, but the Health and Safety Department has not [come] up with one single idea on how to protect the employees whether they are permanent or temporary on their facility,” one of the employees told Guyana Times.
According to the distressed staff, the highest number of deaths is from Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica) where TCL’s office is located.
“We have been asking for nine days for the place to be sanitised, wash down and clean, but management paid us no mind. After that, the workers insisted that they wanted the place sanitise and we asked the workers to put themselves into two groups and the Union was called in after 10 years of pleading. This is the first time the Union had to come,” the employee explained.
The workers are alleging that senior officials within the company are on rotation, but junior workers are not getting to tap into this option.
“The workers asked for a rotation, but the senior staff at the admin building is on rotation over a week now. When the Union [queried] they said that was the decision given to them by CEMEX and let we don’t bother to that,” another employee relayed to this publication.
Union
Guyana Labour Union’s Trecia Hamer when contacted stated that they only received the workers’ recognition certificate a month ago and have not gotten into a state of bargaining, however, a team from the Union will be having talks with the company today since TCL Guyana has made a move to terminate the services of most of the staff who spoke out about the issues they are facing.
“Most of the staff that who spoke out on the issue they terminated their services using the COVID-19 as a means of termination and baring in mind, they also employed contracts in the position for persons who they sent home,” the Union representative explained.
