ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada - The Grenada Electricity Services Limited (GRENLEC) is appealing to the Labour Commissioner to intervene to resolve a strike by its workers which it has deemed to be illegal.
GRENLEC workers represented by the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union (GTAWU) took to the streets on Monday to protest human resource practices of the company (GTAWU Facebook)The lone electricity company in the country said that workers represented by the Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union (GTAWU) downed tools on Monday severely impacting “our operations and service to you our valued customers.
“As GTAWU employees have remained off the job, the Company has appealed to the Labour Commissioner to intervene to resolve the current impasse. We have seen references in the media to a matter that was considered by the Ministry of Labour in 2024 during a GTAWU strike which the Minister for Labour deemed illegal.
“At that time, GRENLEC indicated that it was unable to accept the recommendations and decided to exercise its right to request that the matter be referred to an Arbitration Tribunal, in accordance with the Labour Code.”
GRENLEC said while it awaits the arbitration “as an essential service provider, the Company must continue to conduct its operations in a manner that enables us to provide the best possible service to our customers.
“This illegal strike is not in keeping with the Collective Bargaining Agreement between GRENLEC and GTAWU. The Company remains committed to the established dispute resolution process and urges its employees and the Union to allow the process, which was agreed by both parties, to take its course,” it added in its statement.
But in a statement posted on its Facebook page, GTAWU said its president, Andre Lewis is calling on the government to intervene, “in order to settle an ongoing industrial dispute at the country’s electricity company”.
The union said workers at GRENLEC “are currently protesting unfair HR(human resource) practices and that “dozens of males employees from the generation and distribution divisions marched through the …capital on Monday chanting, “no justice, no light tonight”.
GTAWU said that “this is at least the second time in the last year that employees of the state-owned power supply company have risen in protest over the company’s decision to dismiss workers who worked on contract as temporary workers for continuous periods longer than six months and then fill the same positions with new hires.
“The Technical and Allied Workers Union accuses GRENLEC management of breaching the Collective Labour Agreement which stipulates that any employee who works six months or more, continuously, would automatically become a permanent member of staff”.
The union said it has presented the case of two people whose contracts were broken and renewed by the company during the periods 2019 and 2022 to 2024.
“Six months ago Labour Minister Claudette Joseph heard the matter and ordered that the workers must return to work,” the union said, adding that GRENLEC issued a statement on Monday “announcing service disruptions, as a result of workers failing to turn up for work.
“The company has called the action “unauthorized”. GRENLEC falls under the essential services,” the union said.
In its latest statement, GRENLEC is warning customers that while steps have been taken “to maintain operations while prioritizing critical services” some services will be affected.
It said new connections are temporarily suspended. And that all Customer Care Centres will open on Tuesday “primarily for bill payment service”.
