THE BARBADOS Workers’ Union (BWU) and the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) are negotiating a deal to save 300 jobs from Government’s public sector retrenchment programme.
BWU general secretary Sir Roy Trotman said yesterday that on the table were “sweeping” union recommendations for both management and staff to make financial sacrifices so the BWA would avoid the need for lay-offs.
“We are ready to surrender the demand for double time on Sundays and Saturdays, and that will be a significant give-back or giveaway, if you like, on the workers’ part,” he told reporters following a meeting with more than 300 BWA employees at the union’s headquarters.
“. . . We will be looking as well at having a two-shift system so that some of the work can be done [at night].
“We want cuts from the level of the meals that the board has and the drinks levels that they use, down to cleaning of the buildings involving greater efficiency and greater in-house use of those persons whom we now have as office attendants. It’s been a sweeping kind of proposal that we have put forward to the management.”
