Unions reject CHEC's claim it is paying workers in line with industry standards

 

Unions representing workers on the Mandela Highway Improvement Project are refuting a claim by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) that it is paying wages in line with industry standards.

 

The workers are represented by the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE).

 

The claim was made in a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister which provided details of Wednesday's meeting with govenment officials and the management of CHEC.

 

The meeting was held to discuss the strike by some workers on the Mandela Highway project.

 

The statement said CHEC's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Zhimin Hu, gave the assurance that rates are paid based on industry standards.

 

But according to BITU Vice President Alden Brown, this is not the case.

 

"How can CHEC be saying something like that and the workers have not even received a payslip, and every time the workers are being paid, there is something wrong with their salary?... I don't know why would people believe that the unions are there lying? We don't have no reason to lie. We have set the standards, so we know what it is," Mr. Brown asserted. 

                                               

UCASE President Vincent Morrison raised concern that the meeting was held with government officials and the management of CHEC without the unions being involved. 

 

"We believe that it would have been more useful for all the parties involved in the dispute to be involved in any discussions that was (sic) conducted by the Government of Jamaica," he said, pointing out that CHEC's claim regarding wages was "totally untrue". 

 

Mr. Morrison also rejected the assertion that a formal complaint has not been made to the Ministry of Labour regarding the CHEC workers strike. He noted that this is not the first time that complaints have been made to the ministry regarding workers' wages and CHEC.  

 

Aside from that fact, he argued that "the Ministry of Labour needs no invitation to intervene in disputes across Jamaica - and they have done it before."

 

"I get the impression that everybody seems to be scared of the China Harbour people and everybody seems to be protecting the China Harbour management against the poor, suffering workers," he said.