00:00Scores of workers attached to the National Maintenance Training Service backed by their
00:05union gathered in protest, demanding action after years of unresolved negotiations and
00:12what they describe as neglect.
00:14We are here this morning with our comrades, our members at the NMTS, based on the fact
00:21that the officers are absolutely fed up of the delay and the games that have been playing
00:26concerning the outstanding negotiations at NMTS.
00:29Richardson says the issues stretch back more than a decade.
00:33The last increase in salary would have occurred in 2016, right, however that was from 2012
00:39to that of 2013. So you do not have a negotiated increase from since 2013, mentioning that NTS
00:46workers are minimum wage workers.
00:49He adds that many workers remain without pensions or timely end-of-service benefits.
00:55Retirees themselves were on hand to share their challenge in accessing their gratuities payable
01:01upon retirement.
01:03I retire since 2024 and it's a set of run around. Every time you call, we don't know
01:10how to call back now. When you do call back, well they say they have to wait because they
01:16didn't get no permission to pay everything.
01:19I don't have a problem with all this inquiry and things that are going on here.
01:23They don't do the inquiry, but allocate whatever they claim, they say $42 million that are owed
01:28to retiree. Allocate that money and pay us off. But pay us off, because every year people are going
01:33to retire, right? And if you keep on holding back holding, what's going to happen?
01:38Seeing that people had voted for change, I had hoped that it would have been different,
01:44but like government come, government go, it's the same thing.
01:47Union President Richardson says significant unpaid debts owed by state agencies contribute
01:53to MTS's financial challenges.
01:56It's public knowledge now that the diverse ministries would have owed in excess of $800 million
02:03to MTS. If those monies were paid to MTS, MTS would be not having this problem right now.
02:09Despite outreach to multiple government officials, he says there has been little progress.
02:15And while the demonstration remained peaceful,
02:17Richardson warned that industrial action could escalate.
02:21What's next? Some action will be taken. Some action will be taken and they have listened.
02:26The officers are saying to me, Mr. Richardson, we are absolutely fed up of the disrespect.
02:30And I totally understand that. At present, we are aware that some places are short on staff,
02:35right? This is the last day of the school term. We don't know what will happen
02:38for the first day of the next school term.
02:40Adding to concerns, branch chairman Zaheer Khan described poor working conditions at several
02:46sites. The officers are never fed up. There are some officers, they reach to the extent that
02:50wear the station diary, wear the clothing, wear the shoes, even getting wet while in the execution.
02:57Some of them are getting sick while on the compound. And we are saying that, hey,
03:00at the end of the day, you want 100 percent, but at the end of the day, you need to
03:04fix the problem.
03:04Richardson is now warning the public that without urgent intervention, disruptions are inevitable.
03:11As over 4,000 workers are affected, many stationed at critical state institutions,
03:17including schools, hospitals and the courts.
03:21We do not know what will happen come the first day in the term because the officers at the MTS
03:27are fed up and they have no more chill.
03:30Arvishit Awari, Rupnarein, TV6 News.
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