Bridgetown.
One Barbados' leading construction companies C.O Wiiiillams has served lay -off letters to all its staff including managers and supervisors.
A memo sent to staff by General Manager Neil Weekes stated: “Regrettably, this year the company has experienced a substantial downturn in the amount of work projects, hence overall revenue earnings. This has therefore impacted the company’s capacity to sustain the workforce at its present magnitude".
“To this end, this letter serves to inform of the impending layoffs that will commence on or shortly after May 7, 2013. The company has made every effort to preserve jobs for as long as possible, but circumstances are now of such that layoffs are imminent and will take place on or after the aforementioned date,” the memo conntinued.
Founder and chairman of the firm Sir Charles Williams has denied reports that as many as 100 workers would be sent home. He explained that with the coming into force of the Employment Rights Act, companies were required to give workers six weeks notice ahead of any layoffs.
"Based on current trends, it would be less than prudent to continue business as usual then find out in a few weeks they have no choice but to pay workers, while at the same time there is no work for them to do", Sir Charles said.
The construction magnate said his company was owned almost $20 million, including interest, for work it did for 3S Construction on the highway ahead of the contract being terminated by the David Thompson Government almost immediately after it won the 2008 elections.
Sir Charles said, because of the current economic challenges, they were force to price jobs at 2006/07 levels in order to compete, while labour was considerably more expensive and fuel prices had gone up substantially.
“We are not sending home 100 people,” this is just a security measure. “But we might be sending home some, as we have done in the past.”
According to Sir Carles, C.O. Williams Construction, prior to the February general elections had submitted to Government a private/public partnership project, which if accepted by the Freundel Stuart Administration, should help to save jobs.
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