Renovation works on the Millennium Highway Redevelopment Project has run into more delays—as workers employed with the main contractor on the project CO Williams Construction Ltd downed their tools, Monday, to protest over unpaid wages.
Initial media reports state the employees resorted to industrial action after claiming they were frustrated by the recurrent issue.
Loop News reported that one of the employees indicated that the company has repeatedly failed to pay its workers on time, while another stated the deteriorating situation, is “getting bad, and the workers are getting frustrated.”
In July, the workers had gone after citing payment delays, and the company assured its employees that the matter would be rectified.
Nonetheless, the problem has resurfaced and according to another employee, some workers received a fortnight’s pay, while CO Williams management claimed that “they were not able to facilitate everybody.”
The situation has been aggravated with reports from the employees that “Every fortnight is the same story… we’re not getting paid.”
On Monday, at a media briefing, PM Philip J Pierre told reporters that a delegation from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) was due on island to assess the status of the road works being undertaken at the site. He reiterated the call for more progress on the project that has gone past the due date of completion.
How impactful will this latest development affect the progress of the road works is uncertain, at this time, as there has been no information forthcoming from the company’s personnel upwards to press time.
