KINGSTON, Jamaica — The People’s National Party (PNP) is calling on the Government to quickly intervene and meet with the unions representing employees of the National Water Commission (NWC) who are now protesting an outstanding reclassification exercise.

The protest has disrupted the country’s water supply.

Noting the essential nature of water to life, the Opposition called on the Minister of Finance Nigel Clarke to urgently convene a meeting of the Public Sector Monitoring Committee to address the backlog of issues concerning job reclassification exercises.

In a statement on Tuesday, PNP Spokesman on Agriculture and Water Lothan Cousins said he was deeply concerned about developments.

Approximately 2,000 employees went on strike this morning. According to the NWC, the industrial action was taken without notice.

READ: ‘No money, no water’ – NWC workers demand raise of pay

According to Cousins, the situation is “extremely unfortunate and totally avoidable, had the Government responded to the management and staff on this long outstanding issue, instead of ignoring them with characteristic arrogance which is now a feature of the Government’s industrial relations posture”.

“The result of this is that many Jamaicans woke up to dry pipes and disruption of their lives which the Government had the power to prevent,” he said.

The Member of Parliament said the disruption of supply is already affecting domestic households, businesses and schools, at a time when the education system can least afford further learning loss.

He said the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service must move with haste to meet the workers and their representatives and provide the requisite information to ensure a resumption of normality.

“It was a grave error for the ministry to announce its restructuring plans without due consideration to the over 2,000 critical NWC employees who are now neither fish nor fowl,” Cousins shared.

He said the uncertainty must end once and for all with a clear pathway to settlement.

Meanwhile, one NWC employee told OBSERVER ONLINE that piped water across the island will not be turned on until their demands are met.

“We not gonna turn on the water. We are staying right out here till justice has come. We are at the bottom of the table when it comes on to payment. We need better basic pay, we are not getting what we are supposed to get. Our benefits, our allowances – nothing. We want better basic pay and we want our reclassification money from way back when. I am here how long, and from ’96, ’97 we get reclassification money and there is no more.”