Massive Job Cuts Planned for Arawak Cement Plant – 70 Percent Going Home

The National Union of Public Workers and the Barbados Workers Union are in talks with management of the Arawak Cement plant on separation packages for more than a hundred workers that are being sent home.

The Port of Spain-based Trinidad Cement Limited plans to lay-off most of the workers at the Arawak Cement Company limited which is located at Checker Hall, St. Lucy.

TCL yesterday confirms that it will retrench 70 per cent of the workforce at its Barbados-based subsidiary.

The Trinidadian parent company says that in accordance with the consultations with the two representative trade unions at the Barbados cement plant, “the workforce will be adjusted and approximately 30 per cent of the current employees of Arawak Cement Company will be retained in the new operating model.

General Secretary of the NUPW, Richard Greene, spoke to Starcom Network News about the development.

TCL said in a statement that in the interest of its continued viability, Arawak Cement Company Limited suspended its clinker production last Wednesday, March 15th .

The statement adds that the core operation of the company will be focused on the grinding of clinker and cement production and that Arawak will continue to produce and supply cement to meet the demand of the Barbados market.

Managing director of the TCL group, Francisco Aguilera Mendoza, told the Trinidad Guardian newspaper yesterday that Arawak Cement currently has 175 permanent and casual employees.

He disclosed that separating 70 per cent of the company’s 175 employees meant that about 123 employees would be leaving it, while approximately 52 employees would be retained.

The TCL boss added that the Barbados operation currently has clinker inventory of about 30 thousand tonnes which will be used to manufactured cement over the next six to eight months.

After that period, TCL will start importing clinker into Barbados from its Jamaica or Trinidad operations.

Last August, TCL announced a plan to expand by 30 percent the production capacity at its subsidiary in Jamaica, Caribbean Cement Company.