Sando daily-paid threaten protest action

President-general of the Contractors and General Workers Union (CGWU) Owen C Hinds said negotiations had been scheduled to start during the first quarter of the year. He said while the union signed a three-year agreement for the 1,000-plus SFCC workers last November, that agreement had expired on December 31.

"We are now in the seventh month and there has not been any positive response from the CPO," Hinds said. He added that the union had submitted new wage proposals to the CPO on February 14, but there had not been any counter-proposals.

"Workers are asking for a 30 percent wage increase over the three year period, which would see a ten percent increase in year one, year two and year three," he said.

"We believe this is a reasonable request because the gains which workers have been getting are being eroded away, especially with the rising cost of consumer goods and rising food prices on an almost daily basis." The union is also seeking an increase in COLA to $4.50 a day.

"Workers are beginning to grumble because of the delay in getting the negotiations started and so before anything drastic happens, we are calling on the CPO to start the negotiations as soon as possible," Hinds said, adding that a lack of equipment, including functioning garbage compactors, were also among workers’ grouses.

The union reported the dispute to the Ministry of Labour on June 29.