Government’s Labour Department has issued what’s described as a prohibition notice on three outlets of the fast food chain KFC, Hastings, Oistins and Warrens, until health and safety issues are fixed.

This was the outcome of a marathon overnight meeting following a work stoppage by some KFC staff yesterday.
The 16-hour, all-night session, that was chaired by the Chief Labour Officer, began late yesterday afternoon and ran until about 8 30 this morning.

The meeting at the Labour Department was attended by the department’s head, her deputy, 9 officials of the Barbados Workers Union, including General Secretary, Toni Moore, 3 KFC officials and almost 20 KFC employees.

The BWU describes the meeting as a success.
The Labour Department has ordered that the Oistins, Warrens and Hastings branches of KFC remain closed until remedial work is completed to address several issues, two major ones being an odor and heat.

The order will only be lifted after the Labour Department is satisfied the work has been carried out satisfactorily.

The BWU says KFC has also committed to addressing a number of other safety and health at work issues including providing safety shoes for staff and ensuring employees get their breaks that are allocated by law .

In addition, the company has agreed to increase pest control treatments to address complaints about roaches and flies.

And, KFC has agreed to pay staff who would have been rostered to work during the period in which the outlets will be closed to correct the issues.

The company is also said to have given the assurance that no staff member will be terminated or otherwise victimized.

General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Toni Moore