SASCHA WILSON
& CHESTER SAMBRANO
Several former Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) workers who went to the company’s headquarters in Ste Madeleine seeking answers yesterday, were left disappointed, feeling betrayed and uncertain about their future.
On Friday, the Government terminated the contracts of over 300 CEPEP contractors across the country, a move the Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) claimed displaced more than 10,500 workers.
Some former workers told Guardian Media that they were hoping to meet a CEPEP official yesterday, but that did not happen.
Visham Maharaj, 50, a father of three, including a child with cerebral palsy, had been employed as a CEPEP labourer for half his life.
As the lone breadwinner for his family, he admitted to being scared of losing his home because he could no longer pay his mortgage, provide for his wife or children, send them to school, or put food on the table.
His 17-year-old son attends the Lady Hochoy institution, while his other two children, ages 11 and 15, attend secondary school.
“It come like everything shut down. The breadwinner in the house loss so everybody loss. I was the breadwinner, the man bringing in a dollar, so I don’t have a work so everybody have to hold on.”
Maharaj, who lives in a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) home, said his mortgage is $2,000 monthly.
“I really don’t know what to do,” he lamented. Maharaj said he collected his last salary on Friday.
“To loss your work just so, it hard. You working 25 years for a company and just so you get throw out. We just get pay and when we get pay, a message come to we, and that was it,” he lamented.
Maharaj is still hoping to get his job back. In the meantime, however, he wants a letter from CEPEP to the HDC pledging to pay his mortgage until he’s rehired or finds another source of income.
Another worker, Emmanuel Brown, pleaded with Government to reconsider the termination of contracts.
“I have no other options,” he lamented. Over the last two years, he said, he has been using his “lil money” from CEPEP to rebuild his home.
“Since this happen it being a bother to me and I will say how I affected, badly, because I have no other income. I have no family to help me or assist me,” said Brown.
June Joseph, a single mother, complained that she was also the main breadwinner in her household. She cares for her five grandchildren—all minors—and two children, ages 18 and 30.
One of her daughters still attends school, while the other is unable to work due to a medical issue.
“I have my bills to pay. I have my insurance to pay,” lamented Joseph.
“Why allyuh doing this to people right about now? School closing and this is the time allyuh doing this to people? People have to buy books, and this is not the time to do this.”
She had been a CEPEP worker for four years. Over in St Helena, over 30 CEPEP workers were left stunned and emotional yesterday morning, after being officially informed during a meeting at Eco Park that they no longer had jobs.
The workers, assigned to Purvey Resources and Systems Limited, which served communities in St Helena, El Carmen and Las Lomas, said they were called to the park, where the contractor confirmed their contract had been ended by CEPEP effective last Friday.
“We’re not feeling so good. We’re feeling sad,” said Simmi, who worked with the team for nearly seven years. “Thirty workers—we’re on the breadline. And you know, school opening just now. Parents need to buy books and run to school. We’re really and truly sad.”
For many, CEPEP was more than a job—it was their main source of income and stability. “This CEPEP work did a lot for me,” Simmi said.
“It helped me send my child to school. It helped me finish my house. So, it affected me personally.” Simmi asked that we use that name for fear of victimisation, holding out hope that she may still get a call in the future to return to her job.
Worker Patrice, who recently started renting, said the news was devastating.
“This come like a shocker for me,” she said.
“Now I have to look for something else until—if—they get back the contract. I don’t have children, but rent, Internet, food—bills still coming. When I heard the news, I cried. We all cried. It was very emotional.”
The workers expressed frustration that they were left in the dark and were not consulted or forewarned.
“We are the stories,” one woman said.
“It’s not about the contractors—it’s about we, the workers.”
Alvin, a father of three, said the timing couldn’t be worse.
“Right now, I’m not feeling too good about it,” he said.
“I still have to pay bills and school coming just now. One of my children going into high school. My wife heard about it on social media before I could even tell her. I done set myself to look for another job, but we didn’t expect it to happen so fast.”
The workers are now calling on the new Government to step in and assist.
“We would be glad if the Government—the new Government in power—could do something for the workers,” Simmi said.
The move came weeks after Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath announced at a post-Cabinet news conference that there would be an audit into CEPEP.
On June 5, Padarath claimed over 300 CEPEP contracts were renewed for three years from April 14 to April 24, before the General Election, although there was no Cabinet approval for this to be done.
On Sunday, Padarath responded to the backlash, saying the State intends to return CEPEP to its “original moorings” and implement policies that empower workers beyond cutting grass for the rest of their lives.
Speaking at the United National Congress (UNC) headquarters in Chaguanas, Padarath said more sustainable job opportunities are coming and accused the PNM of using affected workers for political gain.
Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles and her colleagues have organised a legal team to explore possible action against the Government.