Unemployment has increased in the southwestern peninsula following the closure of Petrotrin and although construction is booming, residents say they are hardpressed to get work.
Around midday on Wednesday, villagers of Techier Village, Point Fortin came out to protest for work outside the Techier Community Centre. Although the project is almost close to completion, residents say Venezuelans are being given preference for work, while locals are being denied.
Brent Clarke, who led the protests said many of the residents have passed drug tests and are eager to get a job to take care of their families.
“We are qualified masons, carpenters, scaffolders, and labourers. Some of us have certificates and we have applied over and over again. We have seen more than 15 Venezuelans working on this project. It is disheartening to see the centre being built, the hospital being built and we cannot get a day of work,” he said.
Clarke is also alleging that there were health and safety violations at the site. He also accused the contractors of paying substandard wages. According to Clarke, the Venezuelans were eager to get a job so many were putting up with unsafe working conditions in fear of losing their jobs.
“This cannot be right. We have people who have children to take care of. What do they expect people to do,” Clarke asked.
Another resident Barry Felix said he was injured at the job site and was relieved of his duties without any compensation.
“I was not paid a cent. I was told that they would call me back for work but they never did,” Felix said, pointing to a bruise on his left arm.
Dion Mohammed, a father of one said he too was frustrated with the process.
“When we come to the site and beg for work, the contractor tells us that we have to go to the Labour Office at the Town Hall and then we will get through. I have applied many times, I passed the drug tests, I have my certificate as a mason but still, I cannot get work. We are honest people and we want to make an honest day work. We do not want to rob and thief to mind our families,” Mohammed said.
Contacted for comment, Mayor Abdon Mason denied that foreigners were being hired at the job site. Told that Spanish speaking men were seen on the site, Mason said the project is almost completed and he was certain that many residents from Point Fortin had received work.
He said the “failed protest” outside the community centre was “a total political machination.”
“They want to make an issue where none exist. People who apply for work and who are skilled, qualified and have a good police certificate of good character will get work as long as they pass the drug tests,” Mason said.
Meanwhile, Grantly Wells, one of three contractors employed at the site denied that Venezuelans were given first preference for work. He said a large number of people from Point Fortin were hired. Told of complaints that National Insurance contributions were not being paid, Wells invited the media to come and inspect his books. He said his records clearly showed that payments were being made. Wells also denied that health and safety rules were being violated. He said a health and safety officer was always present on site.