Senior Investigative Reporter
shaliza.hassanali@guardian.co.tt
The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has moved one step closer to its transformation plan by announcing yesterday that the Human Resource Advisory Committee (HRAC) of Cabinet is reviewing the recommendation for the compensation package for its 226 new executive leadership.
Gonzales, who provided an update on WASA’s restructuring process, which was announced in 2022 by Government, said once that is approved, “an announcement will be made almost immediately.”
“The leadership restructuring of WASA is well on the way,” Gonzales told reporters following the tour.
Gonzales said only yesterday he shared the information with chairman Ravindra Nanga.
The HRAC, chaired by Finance Minister Colm Imbert, would approve salaries and compensations.
Gonzales said WASA’s transformation has survived three court actions brought by the Public Services Association (PSA) to stop Government from undertaking the process.
“So we are taking our time doing what we must.”
In 2022, Government announced plans to restructure the cash-strapped WASA to make it an efficient and effective state entity.
Gonzales said the executive leadership package will first target 426 WASA managers.
“We are seeking to reduce that by about 50 or 40 per cent. We cannot drive this restructuring straight down to the ground. You need to have leadership in place to filter down because the leadership of that authority would now have to engage in discussions and consultations with the unions.” The managers who will be axed will have the option of applying for positions advertised by WASA.
“So once the new leadership is in place, they will be responsible for driving the restructuring at the lowest level.”
In 1999, Cabinet approved four levels of managerial staff consisting of 172 employees and an organisational structure of 1,723 staff members. However, WASA currently has on its payroll 4,828 employees, consisting of 3,043 monthly paid and 1,785 daily paid workers. This includes employees with the designation of manager who supervised no one or just one or two staff members under their control.
The monthly salaries of some managers ranged between $20,000 and $40,000. The total wage bill for WASA’s 426 managers amounts to $5 million.
Gonzales said once “the new leadership takes command of the authority in the coming weeks, it is now their responsibility to drive the transformation process lower down because they would now have to be engaged in consultation with the union representing WASA workers.”
This, he said, will form part of good industrial relations practices. Nanga said WASA will consult with the unions on this matter.
“We have teams that we have set up to consult with the PSA, NUGFW, and EPA so that the unions will be consulted. That was part of the injunctive proceedings that were taken. They were of the view that we were not consulting, but as the court found, it was too early to consult at that stage.”
He said Government needed time to develop its policy before the unions could be consulted.
“Contrary to popular belief, we are not about sending people home.”
Nanga said WASA lacked leadership and had become dysfunctional. But now they are making strides.
“If WASA is working, there is no need to change it. So once we get the executives in place, once they are able to get the results, the Government and board expect that will impact.”
Nanga said it was too early to decide how many employers would be going home.
“That was one of the problems in WASA; it was top-heavy. By the time decisions had to be taken for it to trickle down, we were not getting services delivered in a timely manner.”