Sanitation workers say they deserve more pay

Several garbage collectors across the Corporate Area have decried the relatively low salaries that they are being paid, even as they appeal to members of the public to be more thoughtful about the volume of waste they generate and how it is being packaged.

Sanitation workers at the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) earn approximately $25,000 per fortnight. Several of these workers with whom THE STAR spoke said that the volume of garbage they move daily is not commensurate with their pay.

"Me want the bigger heads dem fi know say wi nuh have it easy out yah, and the little money wah dem a give wi cyaa do nuttin," said one worker.

"Is like di people dem nuh have nuh heart fi wi. But if wi nuh clean it, who a guh do it?" the worker questioned.

Another sanitation worker told THE STAR that their salary is insufficient.

"Dem a get di bag and gi wi di crumbs off a di bread. That cyaa work," the garbage collector said. "Some type a thing wah wi affi clean up down yah suh, not even dog want dem," he said.

"Wi need some more money to at least look and sey dem a try do a ting fi we. Wi have families to feed, to, and wi waa take care a wi self, to," the worker added.

However, Audley Gordon, executive director of the NSWMA, said that a salary increase is not on the horizon.

"Since 2016, their pay has been raised three times, and we have been working to increase it. However, there are no plans right now to make any increase because we are in COVID and the Government is really struggling. I'm hoping that we can get out of COVID as quickly as possible so that we can go back on track, where we were increasing their salary almost annually," Gordon said.

Two Corporate Area residents, who watched as the sanitation workers rid their community of garbage, supported the call for increased salaries, even as they urged residents to be mindful about how they dispose of their waste.

"Right now, any amount a money di garbage man dem ask fah dem deserve it, because the rubbish pile up and sometime all four times fi di day di truck deh here a try make di place clean," said Kemar King.

Another resident, Jamar, called on fellow residents to have a heart in the disposal of their garbage.

"Sometimes yuh tink a dead man inna di rubbish di way how it stink, an' it high like a mountain an' is di garbage man dem move it. Sometimes mi feel sorry fi dem man, an' di people dem in here must remember sey dem a human to," Jamar said.