WITCO workers stage protest

The workers’ spokesman Jason Johnson told Newsday there were two main concerns that required urgent discussions but the latter had bluntly refused to treat with these matters.

Johnson said workers were angry when a senior management official made a public statement suggesting there weren’t much skilled labourers in this country, to do jobs that required such specialisation. Johnson said ten Jamaican wokers had been hired — six of which joined the “floor operations” and another four in other departments at WITCO. He claimed the “foreigners” were being paid higher wages than the “locals” and that it was the same “local” workers who had to train their Jamaican counterparts.

He also alleged before the Jamaicans came, Honduran and Venezuelan nationals were brought in under the guise that the Latin Americans were only here to train the local workers. However, Johnson claimed these persons have since been put on a roster while a number of temporary workers, some with seven to eight years service, were not being made a part of the permanent staff.

“The management don’t want to meet and treat with us. When we met last Wednesday they weren’t prepared to deal with the issues and that is why we are out here today,” Johnson said.

He added that at Witco there are approximately 75 floor workers who are directly affected by the present situation. Contacted for comment yesterday, the company’s corporate communications manager Charmaine Coderington, promised that the company’s general manager Anthony Phillip would make a detailed response to the workers’ allegations.