Angered by their inability to pay their bills, purchase groceries and send their children to school, Construtora OAS workers who have not been paid in the last two weeks dismantled work sheds and burnt material as they shut down work on the overdue Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension Project yesterday.
Just over 30 workers stormed work sites at Rousillac and Vance River yesterday, telling workers of two local contractors that unless Construtora OAS pays their outstanding salaries, there will be no work on the highway.
The workers said they are frustrated at the discourtesy the Brazilian firm has displayed. Meanwhile, hundreds of employees gathered at the company's Golconda head office, setting up a tent at the gate to ensure nothing entered or left the premises until they are paid.
Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) branch president Sean Dyer said the workers are still owed bi-monthly salaries from January 22, while the company is selling out equipment to settle debts with local sub-contractors. He said the company had also withdrawn union dues from workers' salaries but have not transferred those funds to the union.
He said the reason workers blocked the Golconda gate was because the company sold the asphalt plant and has since moved to a new office at Gulf View. Company officials did not respond to calls yesterday.
“The company owes us salaries. They told us to go back home and they will pay us but now they are telling us that they are awaiting money from (project manager) National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO). Nidco is telling us that they overpaid OAS. We are now calling on the Government to intervene in this matter very seriously because 1,000 plus workers need to know what is going on.
“As far as we can see, OAS wants to pull out on us because they sold out their trucks, asphalt plant and excavators. Workers are saying no to that. We are saying that workers have to be paid first before anyone else does,” Dyer said.
At the work sites yesterday, the Construtora OAS workers met little resistance from workers under sub-contractors. At Rousillac, the frustrated employees dismantled a tent and blocked the access path to excavation work. Dyer said expatriates from OAS were working at Vance River and there were time sheets and Job Safety Checklists with the company's logo at the work station. He believes the company is trying to force workers out of jobs.
Families stressed out
Work on the $7.5 billion project was suspended on December 18, last year, for the Christmas season and was expected to resume on January 5. However, workers were told to return home and the company will continue to pay their basic salaries. Those payments stopped and according to truck driver, Anton Noel, workers cannot afford to feed their families. He said his children have not gone to school since last week as the last salary he collected was on January 5.
“This is affecting us very badly, people have bills to pay, car loans, families to see about and the company is not telling us anything. We want government's involvement, we want to know what is going on and we need some answers because we are getting fed up. These people are foreigners and we are locals and the local authorities need to step in, take charge and assist us local people.
“These people come here to rob us and leave with our money. We will shut down every work site until we get some kind of answers. We are stopping all and any work that is taking place. We want no work taking place because now there are contractors coming in to do the work that we are supposed to be doing and we are just sitting down home,” Noel said.
He said while they fear being jobless during the recession, he believes the company should pay the workers and leave the country. He said Government should make arrangements for local contractors engaged in the project to absorb the former Construtora OAS workers.