Sanitation workers protest outside landfill

Yesterday, angry workers from the Beetham landfill protested in front of the dump calling on Public Utility Minister Fitzgerald Hinds and Finance Minister Colm Imbert to make a statement by the end of the day otherwise the protest will be extended to other dumps namely Guanapo and Forres Park.

“They have created the most hazardous environment for our workers. In Trinidad, you don’t have landfill you have dumps and there are all types of poisonous waste there...you name it. Workers have to operate in that environment and there is no priority being placed on funding Solid Waste Management Company (SWMCOL) to rehabilitate those dumps,” Benacia said.

He said the union wrote Hinds in November seeking a meeting to discuss issues including hazardous work conditions and retroactive payments owed to workers. “Mr Hinds has not responded to our letter. We have asked him to meet with the union and visit the site to understand what the former Public Utilities Minister meant when he said conditions are inhumane.”

“Workers consider this as total disrespect. In addition to that we had a meeting with the Minister of Finance last week Wednesday, when he indicated to us that he was just being made aware that SWMCOL workers were not getting paid like everybody else and Government has to look into Public Utilities to see if they have any left over money, from their budget, to pay us and if they don’t, they will have to make a request for additional funding. That is considered total disrespect.”

He warned the nation’s dumps are a “ticking time bomb” with some explosions already taking place in terms of environmental pollution. “Run-off from dumps have poisoned our mangroves, the marine environment, rivers and the dust that blows off these dumps especially the one at the Beetham, it dissipates over Portof- Spain and as far as Woodbrook and Westmoorings and even further is being covered with this very highly polluted dust.”

“We are the lowest paid workers who do the most hazardous jobs in the country. I don’t know if the Government does not consider us as public servants because they never placed any priority on sanitation workers in this country. It is as if we are not important and don’t mean anything. And the only time we seem to get a response is when we protest...and that is shameful.”

He claimed that the same disrespect sanitation workers got from the People’s Partnership, they are also getting from the incumbent PNM government.