Port and Maritime Services Ltd. workers are now facing termination, after downing tools on Friday in protest of their working conditions and terms. When they arrived at work on Monday they found a new crew of workers in their place, and they say they can get no redress because their boss is also their union rep. Rynessa Cutting has more.
00:00Port and Maritime Services Limited workers are now facing termination after downing tools on Friday in protest of their working conditions and terms.
00:10When they arrived at work today, they found a new crew of workers in their place.
00:14And they say they can get no redress because their boss is also their union rep.
00:20Vanessa Cutting has more.
00:23We have 14 days we could use to our discretion, how we see fit.
00:26So everybody came to work, nobody didn't sign.
00:30So we take that day.
00:31We take the day.
00:33We call, we didn't get a meeting.
00:35That was from a source.
00:36We didn't get a meeting.
00:37So we take the day and we, you know, we say we, you know, we just think we just, we just saw that wrong.
00:43After complaining for years about health and safety issues and the lack of salary negotiations,
00:49workers attached to Port and Maritime Services Limited decided to make their frustrations felt on Friday.
00:55However, when they got to work this morning, they received an unwelcome surprise.
01:01This morning, they bringing workers to replace us after 14 years and how much years we working here.
01:06They bringing workers this morning to try to run us off the building.
01:10They give us a, they give us a letter.
01:12It have no contract.
01:13We never get a contract.
01:14They tell us we breach our contract.
01:15We never see a contract.
01:16It tell us when I came, I asked for a contract and they told me, I'll get a contract after six months and they make me sign a paper to take union dues out my pay.
01:25And when I went back to them, well, I nearly lost my work.
01:28Let me put it like that.
01:29I was victimized from that day.
01:31So I victimized, 13 years now I'm getting victimized.
01:34In the cessation for asking for contracts and asking for raise our pay and all kinds.
01:39The workers were responsible for transporting and stuffing and unstuffing containers at the customs examination station.
01:57There's nobody to help us in the work, so they have no union rep.
02:00And that is really madness that the union representative is all boss at the same time.
02:04That is utter madness.
02:06I talk to the customs this morning and them laugh when they hear that.
02:08They didn't know, I believe.
02:10But the laugh, you don't have no lunchroom.
02:13You're working, you don't have, as I said, no exhaust fan.
02:15There's a furnace inside there.
02:17If you go inside there, it's nasty with pigeon.
02:19It's a furnace.
02:20It's a rat.
02:21It's everything inside.
02:22The dust, everything inside there just to make you sick.
02:25And then it have no health and safety.
02:26It have no fire extinguishers.
02:28It have nothing.
02:29The light will be sparking so we could die in there.
02:31Port and Maritime Services Limited was founded by the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union.
02:37Attempts to contact SWWTU Secretary General Michael Anaset, who's also on the board of directors of Port and Maritime Services Limited, were unsuccessful.
02:47It's an unknown hypocrite.
02:49All the people on the port say that.
02:51It's just we come last.
02:52Because we're inside the house, you know.
02:54They say we're rich, we're rich, we're rich.
02:56And all the nicest set of talks, they tell us if we work certain amount of containers, we go get incentive or arm, we just call it.
03:03Right.
03:04We work like, they tell us we work 50 containers, we work like 100.
03:07And up to now we can get nothing.
03:08So it's just hypocrisy over hypocrisy again and again.
03:12And we need to get them removed.
03:13Them is the problem with what we're facing here today is Mr. Michael Anaset and he cohorts our managers.
03:21TV6 News was shown the letter from management, which indicates that the workers' action on Friday placed the company in serious breach of its contract with customs and excise.
03:32And as a result, the workers have been suspended without pay, pending the outcome of a disciplinary herring.
03:39TV6 News has also reached out to Customs for response.
03:43Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
03:45Meantime, the Port Authority is distancing itself from the situation and says it is currently reviewing its legal options.
03:53In light of Port and Maritime Services Limited having using the authority's letterhead to issue the suspension letters.
04:00In response to CCN TV6, the authority explains that there was a previous arrangement between the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and Port and Maritime Services Limited.
04:11However, that arrangement officially ended on December 1, 2005.
04:17The Port Authority says, therefore, the use of any letterhead bearing PATS information by PMSL is unauthorized and inappropriate.
04:26Authority says it can categorically state that it currently has no arrangement or affiliation with PMSL, nor are they involved in the operations in any capacity.
04:38Authority says the matter is being treated with by its legal team.
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