00:00Workers at Crystal Waters say they were informed that their employment has been terminated ahead of the company's planned closure
00:07at the end of the month.
00:09According to employees, management indicated that the business is being liquidated and that no severance benefits will be paid.
00:16The announcement has left more than 40 workers in limbo, with many now questioning their legal rights and next steps.
00:24I can speak on behalf of production because I'm a production supervisor here and it's affecting a lot of us.
00:31We have a lot of single parents, people have loans and it is affecting us badly because it makes me
00:40dependable on other people.
00:43The situation has also drawn a response from the Steelworkers Union of Trinidad and Tobago.
00:48Its president, Timothy Bailey, said the working class believed that they had secured a victory when the Senate voted 27
00:55-2-1 in favor of amendments to the retrenchment and severance benefits legislation last Friday in Cabinet.
01:02He said the bill is intended to strengthen protections and ensure that workers do not suffer.
01:08We are here Monday morning, unfortunately, to report that this company, Crystal, the beverage company, normally known for water and
01:19stuff, has terminated its entire workforce because they are closing its doors.
01:27And in so doing, they have informed the workers that they are not entitled to any terminal benefits.
01:34Bailey is now calling on the company to reconsider its position, warning that workers should not be left without compensation
01:41after years of service.
01:43They also argue that the recent amendments to the law were designed specifically to prevent situations like this.
01:50We are saying that Crystal, the beverage company, Miss Maria Daniel,
01:59these individuals should not be allowed to terminate these workers without any separation benefit, and they should be paid their
02:09terminal benefits.
02:11Bailey further emphasized that when a company is doing well, workers often see no share of the profits while board
02:17members benefit.
02:19He warns her that as soon as a company faces financial challenges, it should not be the workers who bear
02:24the brunt of the losses.
02:26When the companies are doing well, the workers don't get extra money, most times, they don't get profits.
02:33As the board members benefit from the profits, but as soon as things start to go south,
02:39you put the workers as the honourable attorney general say, out the past, out the staff.
02:45And we are saying under the circumstances that cannot be allowed.
02:48Charlotte Kistel, TV6 News.
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