Last in, first out!
That was the angry chant from dismissed temporary workers of the National Conservation Commission (NCC) who gathered outside its Codrington, St Michael offices yesterday morning protesting the retrenchment process.
About 194 workers were expected to be severed, but many who were given their walking papers yesterday indicated they felt they had been hit with a low blow because their preferred “first in, last out” method of redundancy was not followed.
Several men and women gathered at the entrance of the NCC; some cursed openly, others loudly vented their anger at how they were treated.
Shop steward Colin Moore told the media that a planned 10 a.m. meeting with the workers and general manager Keith Neblett ended abruptly after half-hour because the workers walked out of the meeting when they realised that several of them with many years of service were being sent home.
“The workers started to express their grouses and they walked out,” he said, adding that many of them had also refused to collect their dismissal letters.
He said the workers were informed that they would be paid tomorrow while they would receive any additional money owed to them later.
Even employees who were not dismissed joined their former colleagues on the front line, saying it was unfair to send home so many workers with long years of service over others who only came on within the last five years.
“They send home good workers. Some of the best people gone home,” cried Hazel Griffith, who worked in the nursery for 20 years.
Her co-worker Marcia Bradshaw, who had eight years’ service, said it would be extremely hard on her since she was the only one in her household who was employed.
Caretaker Maureen Reece, a 13-year veteran, expressed dissatisfaction with how she was treated.
“I am not satisfied with how this whole thing went down because my general manager telling me that it is only temporary workers,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. “How can it be temporary workers when people who have one, two, three years still working? It can never be fair. I bend over backwards for the NCC. There ain’t no caretaker in here that do what I do, none. I went beyond for them.”
Ranger Randall Greaves, 51, said he recently moved into the Coverley Villages and was paying a mortgage of $1 500 a month.
“I have two daughters aged seven and ten. I got bills to pay. I?am 51 years old. I am an old man, nobody will employ me,” he cried.
Former driver Kishkar Hunte, who had been with the NCC?for nine years, questioned why he was the only driver who was sent home.
“There is a man that only doing a year, he just get his first vacation and he still there. They bring four drivers behind me and all of them still got jobs,” he said.
A heartbroken Judy Archer, who worked in the plant nursery for 11 years, was left wondering how she would support her large household.
“I am the only body in my house working. I have eight girls and one boy. I have children going to school and grandchildren. My daughter is a drug addict and give me five grandchildren; I had to sign for them at the hospital and the last one is two weeks. If I did know that this would have happened to me I would have let the Child Care Board take over the baby. Now I got to look to raise that child. This is real hard on me,” she sobbed.
Shernell Blackman refused to hold back her emotions as she loudly let it be known that all of the workers who were hired in July 2007 were among those dismissed.
“We are the last set of people that came in from under the BLP [Barbados Labour Party]. I don’t know if it is unfortunate because I?do not live in Parish Land or Silver Sands that I have been fired but I am voting Trevor Prescod, don’t care if they fire me or not. I for the Bees,” she declared, flashing a red BLP T-shirt.
Most of the workers were, however, very sympathetic about 25-year-old Javon Lynch, who worked in the nursery for eight years and who appeared on all the advertisements for the NCC’s campaign.
“He is the NCC’s spokesman on plants. He was one of the best workers and he knows everything about plants. How can they send home a young man who is so good?” one of his co-workers lamented.