TCL workers stage protest

Dozens of TCL workers staged a protest outside the company’s Claxton Bay compound at 6 am yesterday. Workers waved placards as they demanded the shares as agreed to between the company and the workers’ union.

OWTU branch president for TCL workers Ahmad Mohammed said the OWTU was first informed of the company’s inability to transfer the shares, during a meeting on April 6, but was only given written confirmation of this on Thursday afternoon.

With written confirmation, Mohammed said, the OWTU can now decide on how it will proceed in terms of a response to this and other issues, In a 2014 Memorandum of Agreement, between TCL and the OWTU, after a threemonth strike against the company, around $150 million in backpay was agreed to be distributed to workers - some in cash and some in shares __ to cover the collective periods 2009-2011 and 2012-2014. Mohammed said the $20 million in shares was one of the items which was supposed to be transferred to workers.

Mohammed said the OWTU believes the move was, “calculated and a purposely done strategy of the company not to issue shares which is evident by the fact that Cemex was able to acquire just below 70% in our company.” Mohammed said TCL would not have been able to transfer the shares had they done so before Mexican cement giant Cemex bought majority shares in the company in January.

With a share price of $5.07 and the purchase of shares with US dollars, Mohammed said, “those of us who would have laboured, put our money to ensure that there was a company to transfer now, by way of sale”, are now being treated, “with scant courtesy by individuals who have chosen to profit.” Up to press time, TCL’s corporate communications department did not respond to Newsday’s queries about the matter. The OWTU said TCL workers intend to continue protesting not only over the share transfer issue but the slow pace in which the company is treating with other outstanding matters including Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for casual workers and an end to TCL negotiating directly with workers and not the union.

The OWTU will be meeting with TCL on April 26 and 27 for discussions on how the two will settle outstanding issues. After about an hour of protests yesterday, the workers put away their placards and went to work