City Mayor meets with Council Workers on concerns about retirement benefits

City Mayor meets with Council Workers on concerns about retirement benefits

Mayor of Georgetown Alfred Mentore met today with close to one hundred workers from the Solid Waste and General Workers’ Departments of the City Council, who are at risk of retiring without their pension or any other benefit.

The workers said they were told that they could face the hurdle because they are not on the Municipality’s Fixed Establishment, and are therefore not entitled to those benefits. 

The City Mayor met with the affected workers one day after a small group lodged a complaint at the Ministry of Labour.

It was explained that despite serving the Council for many years, the Municipality has failed over the years to transfer the workers to its Fixed Establishment of workers, despite a Court ruling that was handed down more than five years ago.

 Elton Williams, one of the affected workers, told reporters that various councils have been dragging their feet on the issue, which has grave financial implications for the affected workers.    

“Some of us work over 20 something years and change, and it is unfair for us that after all those years of service, when we come off, we can’t get no pension,” Williams said. 

 According to the Council, in order for the workers to be placed on the Fixed Establishment, a worker must be 45-years or younger, in order to receive pension from the age of 55.

But Williams said for the affected workers, who have been pursuing the issue for a number of years without any resolution, it is unfair for the Municipality to now implement the rule, when it failed to enforce it in the past. 

“2005 flood, up to now, my hand still turning out, I have to pay hospital bill, that’s for life. We were there, while they were home sleeping. Mandela Dump Site, we were there protecting this city, while they were home sleeping. Garbage crisis, we were there, while they were home sleeping, and it is unfair for us not to get pension when we come off, it is wrong,” Williams said.

Another worker told reporters that based on the rule, he would no longer be eligible to be placed on the Fixed Establishment, but it is no fault of his. 

“For 26 years I work with the council and fuh know people come on and spend 10 years and going on the fix is unfair. And when this thing de passing, I was like 41 years old, now I am 46, so I can’t go on the fix, as what they put it as,” he complained. 

In a telephone interview with News Source today, the City Mayor said hundreds of workers in all eight of the departments within the Municipality could be affected, and he intends to review the Court Order with the hope of resolving the issue.

 “I asked that I get that order. I will look at it, I will seek to see what options are available in law to be able to deal with the issue but we have identified someone from the persons who are complaining about this issue to lead that process with two or three other persons, so we can treat with it, and have a permanent solution. But I can only base it on the order, and if the order was in place to allow for this, we will then be guided by that order, which would have given them the option of being placed on the Fixed Establishment since then. But there will still have to be some other payments, and other adjustments that would have to be made,” the City Mayor explained. 

The Mayor said during the course of this week, he will be meeting with the other affected workers from the other departments to hear their views on the matter. 

You must be logged in to post a comment Login