Several employees of one of the country's largest printing and packaging company, Cariflex (1994) Ltd, were greeted with a locked gate to the compound yesterday.
The workers claimed that they had heard rumours of the company closing its doors but said they were "left in the dark" as to what was really happening.
Four female employees, who have been employed with the company for over 20 years, turned up for work at O'Meara Road, Arima, yesterday, but could not enter to take up their normal duties as they were met with a padlocked gate and guard dogs at the entrance of the compound.
The workers said that they were yet to be contacted by the company's owner and chief executive officer, Victor Sooknarine. Sooknarine inherited Cariflex, when his father, Harry, the founder and governing director of Cariflex and Harricrete Ltd passed away in 2010.
Contacted for comment, Sooknarine said operations at the company had ceased and blamed it on a series of events, including a recent burglary that left the building without power.
Romel Ravello, who claimed to be Sooknarine's personal assistant, said on December 18, last year thieves broke into the compound and stole over 100-feet of power cables.
Sooknarine said the plant suffered as a result.
"T&TEC came in and we are yet to have the problem sorted out. The plant is left with no power, everything is down," Sooknarine said. He said that for the past two to three months, Cariflex has been hit with other major problems, including no water, low voltage and this latest robbery.
He also said that his staff numbers dropped from 80 employees to 25.
Sooknarine blamed challenges in the manufacturing sector for the closure of the company.
"Suppliers of raw materials are down my throat for monies but we cannot even get the foreign exchange to pay them. Also, when we do have the raw materials we don't have the people to work."
Asked why the employees were not informed as to the status of the company and the status of outstanding salaries to workers, he replied: "There are managers and people there to convey the message to the workers and we are trying to work with them. Our finance people will be contacting the employees."
Asked about the health and safety issues, Sooknarine said: "We are also doing food packaging as well and we are trying to rectify the problems there. We are trying slowly to go forward."
Sooknarine disclosed that major expansion was done to the plant within the last three to four years and added that efforts were currently being made to partner with a company of similar nature from the Dominican Republic.
"This is our way of trying to also target new markets by going into the Latin American markets," he added.
He also disclosed that discussions were ongoing with officials from another packaging company located along the East/West corridor.
"We are trying to put together a deal to bring both companies together. So, we are trying to restructure and go forward given the limitations we have and our biggest issues we are faced with."
Sooknarine said that it was not about the plant closing down but rather a "rethinking of the game we are playing. We will go forward slowly but a lot of factors are changing in our country.
EMPLOYEES IN THE DARK
Employee, Deborah Fraser, 57, who worked at the company for the past 25 years said that she has not been paid for the past four months.
"Some of us are almost reaching our 60 years of age and we would need for them to sign up our respective NIS documents so we could get our pensions and other dues but now we don't know what is going on," Fraser said. "There is no common courtesy or principles. People have mortgages and loans to pay and we cannot pay them because we are not being paid," she said. Another employee, Charmaine Patrick, 56, said she only received up to October's salary and was still awaiting November's and December's.
Patrick said in 2015 their work days were decreased to four days for the week and last year, to three days. "We working less days and still they haven't got the money to pay us," she said. Bookbinder Cheryl Marshall, 59, said she has been employed there for the past 24 years. She said that in recent times the company was also plagued with a lot of other issues, including health and safety matters.
"The plant became pigeon infested and then there wasn't a supply of water for six months. Officials from the Occupation, Health and Safety came in and took out pictures as well as reports were made to them about the conditions we worked under," Marshall said.