About 100 employees of the Grenada Electricity Company (GRENLEC) stayed off the job yesterday, for the second consecutive day, to press for a cost of living adjustment to their new wage agreement.
The decision to continue the protest action came after a meeting late Monday, involving GRENLEC Management, the Technical and Allied Workers' Union (TAWU) and Labour Commissioner Cyrus Griffith, failed to reach a clear settlement.
The striking workers – about half of GRENLEC's staff – have demanded a 7.5 per cent increase on salary adjustments for 2007, after the results of a job evaluation carried out by the Trinidad and Tobago-based Human Systems Limited.
GRENLEC and TAWU have already signed on to the new three-year wage agreement which includes a 4.25 per cent pay hike on salaries for 2008. Head consultant at Human Systems Limited, Marvin Johnsilla, is expected here tomorrow.
"He [Johnsilla] did not build into those values the inflationary increase which occurred and, the fact of the matter is, we have the empirical data before us showing a movement, as of May, of 9.7 per cent," Humphrey said.
"When I spoke to Mr Johnsilla he suggested that we take the inflationary movement in prices in the new round of negotiations. This is precisely what we are doing; rather than take it into the new round in 2009 to 2011, we are taking the 2007 rate right now."
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