His salt-and-pepper beard is long and thick, as if he hasn't shaved in a few decades. He bears a striking resemblance to George Weekes, the late president-general of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU), the union now representing striking workers of Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL). That strike is now on its 29th day. The strike notice served on TCL was for 90 days. That leaves 61. Meet Grenada-born Jerome Martin, also known as "Wacca" and "Iron Chef." It's mid-morning on this fourth Friday of the strike and Martin, 62, is making dumplings for three big iron pots of soup: vegetable, chicken foot and beef.
He worked for TCL for 40 years and eight months. In those decades, Martin worked as a welder, labourer, plumber, kiln operator, mill operator, driver and loader. His father, Isaac Jerome, also worked at TCL, as a gatesman and then a fitter. A little boy, his father and his mother, Winifred Callendar, came to Trinidad after Hurricane Janet struck Grenada in 1955. He explained how he came by the nickname "Wacca." As a boy, he'd won three consecutive walking races in St Margaret's, Claxton Bay. His father boasted to others that his son was the "boss walker," but with his Grenadian accent, it sounded like "Wacca." The name stuck.
"I sat on the wall to remove the expats so locals could own and control our patrimony," said Martin, referring to the wall at Claxton Bay that bears the company's name. Originally, no wrought iron was attached to the curved wall. "The local massa worse. They take whip off your back and put it in your mind. "I said things will be better. They were better for a while. At the last annual general meeting, shareholders called for the resignation of senior managers." News reports of the July 17, 2011, meeting at TCL head office said shareholders took the TCL board to task over the financial losses incurred by the group and the decision to withhold dividend payments for the next three years while its $1.8 billion debt is reprofiled.
One report read: "Another shareholder said they have been forced to sacrifice due to the board's decisions. He said shareholders now also faced pressure from their bankers over loans that were secured using TCL shares, the value of which have decreased over the last six years." As of last Friday, TCL shares were worth $1.80. They peaked in 2005 at $10. Ironically, the Employers Consultative Association awarded TCL the 2009 Champion Employer of the Year. According to the 2010 TCL annual report, the Jamaican and Barbados subsidiaries-Caribbean Cement Company Ltd and Arawak Cement-were the hardest hit by depressed regional market conditions. "The group recorded an overall loss of $80.3 million, of which $4.3 million related to discontinued operations, compared with a profit of $94.3 million for 2009," the report stated.
Cement in barrels on trains
Martin is old enough to talk about the days when cement was transported via train-Trinidad Government Railway-from Claxton Bay to Port-of-Spain in barrels. The railway station in town was what is today known as City Gate on South Quay. The train would go through Couva, Cunupia and Curepe, said Martin, of its scheduled stops. He remembers as well the six-month-long strike in 1961. Back then, he was the "banker" for card-playing workers. He also worked "PH" in Claxton Bay, Couva and San Fernando with his green and cream Ford Cortina. There was little competition, so Martin used to make money on the road. The Website theyworkforyou.com, which keeps tabs on the United Kingdom's parliament and assemblies, records that Iain Macleod, MP for Enfield West, UK, said then: "I have been kept informed about this strike. It began as a result of the company's refusal to recognise the trade union which claimed to have the support of the majority of the employees.
"The Governor has recently informed me that negotiations under the chairmanship of the Minister of Labour have resulted in an agreement between the parties which was signed on 9th May, providing for the ending of the strike and the establishment of trade union bargaining machinery. "The interests of the Colonial Development Corporation are confined to non-voting preference shares, which do not entitle the corporation to intervene in the management of the company." Martin, who never went to "big school," recalled that the then union was informally called Patrick Union, so named after its leader, whose full name he can't remember. Dissasfied with Patrick Union's representation, the workers took to the late Owen Hinds' Contractors and General Workers Trade Union. In the mid-1970s, the workers shifted to OWTU under George Weekes.
Hard day's work
"John Public think we working for plenty money. If you are one of us, even with a big amount of money the company quoting we working for, it is deserving. You need more to take care of yourself." He said a worker's dust-masked face is usually covered with powder as if it's Carnival Monday. A week ago, TCL general manager Satnarine Bachew said a TCL labourer earns more than $13,000 monthly. Martin said when he started working at TCL, there were more than 600 workers between the Claxton Bay and Mayo TCL plants. "Now every manager have a manager," he said. He and other OWTU members said workers' bonuses were $3,000, but one of TCL's administrative assistants got $40,000. They said one engineer's bonus was an employee's yearly salary. Also, that some employees may start working at TCL owning a Mitsubishi Galant, but by the end of their probationary period, they are driving Hondas. They alleged that TCL is top-heavy: there are about 60 employees in the corporate office. "I cannot afford to sit idly by and allow people at the bottom to be taken advantage of. They have to treat people with a little respect," said Martin.
