NWC head contradicts labour minister over claims of water restoration, systems still down

President of the National Water Commission (NWC), Mark Barnett, says water supply has not been restored to a "great degree" to customers of the utility company as Labour Minister Karl Samuda claimed in Parliament yesterday.  

"I wasn't aware of what the minister said until I read it in the papers. At the same time, we were at the Ministry of Labour trying to resolve things," he told The Gleaner. 

More than 2,000 NWC workers have taken industrial action over outstanding salary issues. 

Barnett said up to 9:30 this morning, the situation had not changed much from yesterday.

He noted that up to 95 per cent of the state agency's roughly 600,000 customers are still being affected by water lock-offs. 

In an update to the House of Representatives yesterday, Samuda said water was returning to customers, dozens of whom disputed the claim on social media platforms and elsewhere in the media. 

"I'm very pleased to advise that in great part, to a great degree, water has been restored," Samuda said, responding to a question from Opposition MP Fitz Jackson who queried whether the lock-offs would continue while the NWC and unions negotiated. 

"We will, during the course of the negotiations, ensure that everything is done to have that flow of water on a continuous basis while we discuss the matter," Samuda said. 

But, the NWC boss is insisting that "all of my facilities are down". 

"Majority of the facilities are my largest facilities. And it simply means that where my largest facilities are out of operation, that's where most of my customers are supplied from so that would affect a large number, 90-95 per cent, possibly, of my customer base," Barnett said.

The NWC has been trucking water to some hospitals, rural police stations and other places with high accommodation, he said. 

Barnett said the NWC may not be able to extend its support to schools.

Meanwhile, advice is still being sought to determine whether legal action should be taken against the more than 2,000 workers who have taken industrial action. 

The NWC head said an update on the agency's position could be finalised by later this afternoon. 

The NWC is part of the country's essential service and under the law, workers in that category are forbidden from taking industrial action. 

Negotiations between the NWC and the five unions representing workers at the agency were scheduled to start at 10 a.m.

The resumption of talks follows 10 hours of discussions yesterday that failed to result in a resolution of the dispute. 

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