WASA workers stage mass protest

HUNDREDS OF WASA workers staged a Carnival-style protest at the utility’s St Joseph headquarters yesterday. The massive demonstration spilled onto the Eastern Main Road as the workers sought to bring their plight to the attention of the public. The workers said they were protesting the contracting out of WASA jobs, privatisation, restructuring, VSEP and the failure of management to resume negotiations for a new collective agreement, proposals for which were submitted since 2001. President of the WASA section of NUGFW, Salim Muwakil said: “We feel that these delaying tactics in relation to the negotiations are a ploy, so the Government could enter WASA and do what they want without consulting the union.”

On the issue of the contracting out of work, he pointed out: “Taxpayers’ money is being wasted by the duplicating of work through the use of contractors. When a Government is contracting out the services to the rich, how could it talk about social gains? “Now we have made WASA into a haven, they are bringing the contractors to take our jobs. Too many contractors are being allowed to bore our water mains and go into our yards. “We have to do over work they do. They are not working in accord-ance with the collective agreement with regard to safety. They are making WASA look as a ten-day outfit,” said Muwakil. Asked about a charge by WASA that there is a tampering of valves on the transmission system supplying water to certain areas, Muwakil said: “The amount of contractors in WASA right now, anything could happen.”