PM cools subcontractor highway rage
Published:Wednesday | June 15, 2022 | 12:14 AMShanna Monteith/Gleaner Writer
Subcontractors executing the buildout of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project are satisfied that their voices have been heard and issues addressed following a meeting with the Government and other stakeholders on Tuesday evening.
The decision to meet came from Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who chaired the assembly, after contractors expressed concerns about the progress of the project, which stretches from the Yallahs Bridge in St Thomas to Port Antonio in Portland.
Speaking with The Gleaner, an attendee at the meeting shared that there were open and frank discussions.
“The two sides agreed to continue to work in a collaborative mode to ensure the completion of the project while acknowledging that there are some issues which require give-and-take on both sides,” the source shared.
Discussions centred on the subcontractors’ request to re-examine the fluctuation formula in the contract given the sharp increases in the cost of project materials as well as the need to consider granting additional paid time because of delays not attributable to the subcontractors.
Over the past few months, the workers have come under immense pressure as various stakeholders, including taxi operators and other motorists, have protested what they describe as the slow pace of work being undertaken and the disadvantages they have endured, including damage to their vehicles.
However, the 10 subcontractors unanimously refused to take the blame, saying that all their concerns, some more than two years old, have been shared with their employers.
“There have been delays in the implementation of the project and that is no fault of ours … . The delays have been costing us,” said one contractor employed to a project along the Portland main road.
He requested that his identity be withheld.
The contractors said that they had initially agreed to carry out a roadwork contract that was later extended to include a pipeline assignment, which started out as a labour-only agreement, with the necessary material being supplied by the employer.
“The completion of the pipeline is critical to the completion of the roadworks and that was delayed because of the unavailability of pipes and fittings. That has a multiplying effect,” the contractor said.
“There was also the issue of long turnaround for approvals and instructions. Things that should’ve taken weeks were taking months,” he added.
The de facto minister of works Everald Warmington, who blasted subcontractors covenanted to complete selected areas, blaming them for negligence, recently shared that head contractor China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) has been instructed to intervene and recover those areas where the work has been lagging behind and has not been treated with the required standard.
Expressing what they describe as disappointment in Warmington’s initial response, the subcontractors added that members of the public have also been pointing fingers at them, expressing disapproval with their work as ‘local contractors’.
“Everybody is saying, ‘Give it to the Chinese,’ and I’m not saying local contractors are without fault. There is more that we could have done, but there is a lot we couldn’t do because we were awaiting designs and so forth from our employers,” said Keon Hinds, managing director of NF Barnes Contractors.
Boasting what he described as a track record of exceptional work done by local contractors, Hinds, whose company is tasked with the completion of the Morant Bay to Prospect leg of the highway, shared that more credit needs to be given to the “man on the ground”.
“At the end of the day, we are the same one that will be using these roads, so we have a vested interest in seeing this done well,” Hinds said. “The Chinese will pack up and go a dem yard. We don’t mind the scrutiny … . Just give us the resources and allow us to do our jobs. We have experience …; we are professionals,” he said.
This concern was also addressed in Tuesday’s meeting, with Holness emphasising the importance of the local contracting fraternity to national development. But he also reminded the meeting of the need to exercise fiscal prudence.