Protesting former highway workers made good on their threat to disrupt continuation of work on the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension project to Pt Fortin yesterday as they blocked AECOM officials from leaving the OAS compound at Golconda, San Fernando.
AECOM, an American firm, was given the contract by the National Infrastructure Property Development Company (Nidco) to oversee construction of the $7.4 billion project.
Work on the project has been continuing despite weeks of protests by retrenched employees over the non-payment of salaries and severance benefits to over 860 workers and 60 local contractors.
AECOM’s resident engineer, Terry Buckley, engineer Bob Weishaupt and geotechnical technician Joe Bond met with a handful of workers, including contractor Alastai Ramharack and OWTU’s shop steward Ronnie Sealey, around 10 am after workers stormed the compound.
Sealey asked Buckley whether Nidco could release OAS performance bonds which would be made available to them at the end of the contract.
He said that could be used to settle outstanding debts.
During a meeting yesterday, Buckley told workers that AECOM had no influence over the release of performance bonds.
Saying this was a legal matter, Buckley said AECOM’s sole responsibility was to manage the construction project.
“Our duty is to advise them on engineering issues and all matters related to the performance bonds rests with Nidco and government,” Buckley said.
He added that during a previous meeting OAS officials promised to honour an agreement to pay the workers their outstanding monies.
Each worker was given a document with the dates of five proposed payment dates and settlement of severance payment.
Buckley said OAS had stopped carrying out works because of its cash flow problems and overflowing debts.
He disputed a statement made by Rowley that OAS was overpaid.
“This is a misunderstanding of what happened. I can put my hand on my heart and say we haven’t overpaid OAS. It was simply an adjustment of funds for works done.
All payments are interim payments and it is subject to change but OAS wasn’t overpaid,” Buckley said.
Ramharack told Buckley that the retrenched workers would not allow AECOM to continue works on the project.
“We are saying that we need AECOM to hold your hand and stop work now because this is a disrespect to the OAS workers and contractors who are lobbying for their monies,” Ramharack said.
The workers walked off the meeting and proceeded to Nidco’s Port-of-Spain office to protest.
Nidco’s communications manager, Ingrid Ishmael, said yesterday the non-payment of salaries and severance was a matter between OAS and its former workers. She said workers who expected performance bonds to be released were being misinformed.
Rowley said on May 2, prior to his departure on an overseas mission, said the State was seeking to “extricate” itself from the contract with OAS. He said the project now had to be completed by new contractors.
MOTORISTS TURN ON PROTESTERS
Angry and frustrated motorists, trapped in standstill traffic, turned on protesting former highway workers yesterday pleading with them to find an alterative method of resolving their dispute with Brazilian construction company OAS Construtora.
Before dawn yesterday, a handful of protesters blocked the South Trunk Road at two separate locations as the workers entered a second consecutive day seeking to raise public support to compel the Government to intervene for them to get outstanding salaries and severance benefits.
Commuters who were stuck in traffic chastised the protesting workers. Among them were former Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union shop steward Roger Wharwood.
“This is not the way to do things. Why you block the road? You all causing innocent people to suffer. Take your protests to Nidco (the project manager for the Solomon Hochoy Highway extention to Pt Fortin) and (Prime Minister Keith) Rowley or let the union deal with this diplomatically,” Wharwood shouted from his car.
OWTU shop steward Ronnie Sealey accused Wharwood of selling out the workers. Sealey said the protests were meant to get the attention of Works Minister Fitzgerald Hinds and Rowley.
Another motorist, Ayanna Tobias, tried to empathise with the workers, saying: “Everybody struggling in this country. We know you all get no money but you cannot make innocent people suffer because we not responsible for this.”
By 6 am commuters came out of taxis and walked through the blockades while a few others began removing the debris themselves.
By the time police arrived about 20 minutes laters, most of the protesters had left to block the Golconda Connector Road.
Contractor Alastai Ramharack said over 60 local contractors are owed in excess of US$40 million.