Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries are set to meet with officials of the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) to decide the fate of 67 employees on Monday.
The team, which will be led by Permanent Secretary Joy Persad-Myers, will include other senior and technical officials.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at 1.30 pm at the ministry’s office in St Clair.
Addressing concerns by the workers—most of whom have been classified as casual and regular employees, Minister Clarence Rambharat yesterday explained the rationale behind what he stressed was a “lay off” and not retrenchment.
Speaking to reporters as he left the Ministry of Health’s Anti-Microbial Resistance seminar at the Marriott Hotel, Invaders Bay, Mucurapo, to attend yesterday’s sitting of Parliament, Rambharat said his ministry had employed a “lot of casual workers” because of the particular season.
Having just completed the dry season, Rambharat said there was no longer a need for so many persons. Following an internal exercise, an initial list of 69 workers was identified.
However, Rambharat said this number had been reduced to 67 which included a mix of both regular and casual workers.
Referring to the collective agreement with the NUGFW, Rambharat said, “It provides for the ministry to lay off regular and casual workers when there is no work for them.”
Stressing that “it is a lay off, not retrenchment,” the minister said the agreement stipulated that regular workers be given five days’ notice and that casual workers be given two days’ notice, as to their professional standing.
Although no decision was taken up to yesterday regarding the fate of the 67 workers, Rambharat gave the assurance that the team would “strive for fairness” in their deliberations with the union.
In fact, he said, some of the workers may actually “be retained in other positions.”
However, he warned, “There will be other NUGFW members who will be competing for the same positions.”
Stating that the ministry was not there to create jobs but that there were currently 174 public service positions that needed to be filled along with other contract positions, Rambharat said they wanted to ensure that persons with technical qualifications, competence and capacity in their respective fields were hired.
Workers protested after an internal memo by the permanent secretary regarding the termination of daily rated workers was leaked last week, prompting Mayaro MP Rushton Paray to call on Government to discontinue the practice of sending workers home.
Paray said the move was counter-productive and also posed a threat to the country’s food security.
He said it was an inhumane action which struck at the heart of the working class.
Responding via social media, Rambharat later said that during the period 2014/2015, an excessive number of daily paid casual employees had been retained in the Lands Division, and that there was now insufficient work to sustain the large labour force.
He said the issue of qualified personnel had also arisen and that it was on this basis, the decision to reduce the workforce had been taken.
Rambharat yesterday promised that they would work with the union as they moved forward on the issue.