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NAACIE to address breach of agreement with Bosai
– Kenneth Joseph
Workers’ rights must be respected by their employers. This notion was emphasised recently by Mr Kenneth Joseph, General Secretary of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE).
Joseph was at the time commenting on the meagre meal allowance that workers of the Bosai mining company in Linden were recently offered by the management of the company.
NAACIE General Secretary, Kenneth Joseph
According to the General Secretary, after engaging strike action to retaliate the provision of an inadequate meal (two small packets of biscuits and coffee) after working for eight hours and proceeding on overtime, the company had decided that it would instead offer the workers a $400 snack allowance.
Joseph related that although most of the workers have chosen to accept the offer, the union will in no way recognise such a meagre amount as sufficient for the workers.
He further pointed out that some of the workers who are against the company’s new offer are afraid to speak up, since they are in the minority.
The General Secretary explained that, based on the union’s rules, once employees work beyond eight hours, they should be given at the least a $700 meal allowance.
As such, he said, the union has opted to write the company to reconsider its offer, adding that there has been no response from the company in this regard.
Joseph further divulged that the snack allowance being offered by Bosai in fact constitutes a breach of an agreement it shares with the union, a move the union will not take lightly.
Joseph related that, at the moment, the union will maintain its attempts to persuade the company to change its offer in the interest of the workers.
The union had asserted that if the company cannot afford to pay workers the recommended allowance, the workers should not be called upon to work beyond eight hours.
However, according to Joseph, the union will not dissuade workers from accepting the payable amount, since they could lose financially.
He noted that, at the moment, should the workers refuse to accept the proposed deal, the company could simply withdraw the overtime hours, which the workers need in order to gain added financial security.
In an earlier interview with this newspaper, Joseph had speculated that the company is preying on the fact that the Linden community is a depressed one and many persons are in dire need of employment.
“There has been a shortage of employment in Linden and these workers are glad to have a job and be able to earn money….The company has recognised that, and that is why it has a bargaining strike to do this to the workers.”
In essence, Joseph said, the company will be gaining in the long run, since workers prefer to work the overtime shift in order to be able to earn more, and thus have accepted the company’s snack assistance.
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