SCHOOL MEALS WORKERS who provided meals for the inmates at the temporary prison in St Lucy still have not been paid.

Despite encountering this problem they have not spoken to their representative, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) on the issue.

"We have not said anything because we would have warned them from up front early o'clock [about the arrangement]," said General Secretary Dennis Clarke recently.

"My understanding is, and I'm fully satisfied, the Ministry (of Education) did give them correct advice as to what they should have done before they got into the entire exercise.

"The union did discuss it with the Permanent Secretary [Atheline Haynes] and we are clear that the ministry did do the right thing. It's just simply that the workers were misguided in what they were doing. They did not heed the advice of the ministry," said Clarke.

He noted the union called the workers to a meeting to discuss the issue but the majority of them did not attend.

"I don't know if they feel that we were trying to stop them from making an extra dollar but we were trying to put them on the right business course and therefore I believe they have realised they have done wrong and they are suffering in silence because they have not received their due reward.

Clarke had said in an earlier interview that most of the workers had "volunteered, as part of their civic duty throughout the crisis [the Glendairy fire in March 2005], but they did not expect that the work would have lasted so long".

Additionally, he noted then that staff were forced to work from as early as 4 a.m. to prepare three meals per day for inmates at Harrison Point, and lunch for primary schoolchildren, though their scheduled time was 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In addition, some of the delivery vans were not operational.

(DS)