The 67 workers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries who were identified to be laid off by the end of this month because there was simply no work for them will remain employed for the time being.
However, their fates will be decided by the end of next month.
This decision was taken during a two-hour meeting between ministry officials and representatives of the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW) on Monday.
The team, which was led by the Permanent Secretary Joy Persad-Myers, agreed to review the list before deciding on the way forward.
Providing an update on the outcome of the meeting, Minister Clarence Rambharat said, “The parties agreed to set up a joint team to review the list of workers and decide on the way forward. The joint team will conduct a review towards the end of June 2016.”
Last Friday, Rambharat said the initial list of 69 workers had been reduced to 67, which included a mix of both regular and casual workers.
Rambharat said most of the workers who were classified as casual and regular employees were being laid off and not retrenched.
He explained these workers were hired because of the particular season and following the completion of the dry season there was no longer a need for so many persons to be kept on.
The minister said the collective agreement with the NUGFW allowed the ministry to lay off both regular and casual workers when there was no work for them.
The agreement also stipulated that regular workers be given five days notice and that casual workers be given two days notice, as to their professional standing.
Rambharat said while some of the workers may be retained in other positions, they would be facing internal competition from persons also desirous of being appointed in those posts.
He said the ministry had embarked on an exercise to ensure that all vacant positions were filled by persons who possessed the technical qualifications, competence and capacity in their respective fields.
Workers protested after an internal memo by the permanent secretary regarding the termination of daily rated workers was leaked some weeks ago.