Water strike forces schools to close

Marlie Mount Primary, St Catherine High and Jose Marti Technical are among a host of institutions of learning in the parish forced to suspend classes this morning amid an ongoing nationwide strike by some 2,000 National Water Commission (NWC) employees. 

The industrial action taken yesterday has left tens of thousands of homes and businesses without the essential commodity. 

A marathon meeting involving the workers’ unions, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the NWC hierarchy ended approximately 10:00 am last night without brokering a deal that would end the strike.

Labour minister Karl Samuda had announced in Parliament that the situation was returning to normal, but that proved to be a false alarm with majority of Jamaicans saying they are still without water.

Further evidence of this became clearer this morning when students were turned back due to the debilitating situation.

“There will be no school today,” the St Catherine High School stated in an advisory to parents issued 6:00 am “due to the lack of water”.

Transport operators and parents did not take kindly to the belated notification when they turned up at the gates of Marlie Mount Primary and Infant to discover classes will not be held.

Principal of Marlie Mount Calvin Harris, in a message to parents, said: “Students will stay home for today and during the course of the day you will be briefed as it relates to when school will resume.”

Other institutions in the Old Harbour area and elsewhere across the parish managed to operate normally because they had enough water in storage.  But with reserves dwindling rapidly they too will be forced to shut their doors.

School was in session today at Old Harbour Bay Primary, however the turnout was low, as the community, where majority of the students reside, has been without water since Sunday.

Old Harbour Primary just had enough water to take them through today, its headmaster George Goode told Old Harbour News. The school’s management will make a late decision he said based on the outcome of the meeting with the government and unions.

“Our water is now finished,” said Goode. “So if the situation persists, then we will have to close our doors tomorrow.”

In an effort to ensure learning continues some schools have posted materials in virtual classrooms established during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

All other sectors in the country have been impacted in some way by the strike. Among those hit hard is the hotel industry, while the Tax Administration of Jamaica said it had no choice than to close operations early today at several locations across the country with Old Harbour and Linstead among them.

SERVICE ALERT! Several locations closed at 12 noon today due to impact of the developing @NWCjam industrial action: Sav,Morant Bay,Linstead,St. Ann's Bay,Annotto Bay,Old Harbour. Business can still be done online https://t.co/tMLD6BnRcG. @NationwideRadio @rjrnews @JamaicaObserver pic.twitter.com/4wJ8ASF9hc

— JamaicaTax (@JamaicaTax) May 11, 2022

At the time of publishing news broke that the parties have reached a resolution with NWC workers reportedly set to resume normal operations beginning with the night shift.

Old Harbour communities should expect water in their taps during the course of the night said retired NWC engineer Clive Brown, who was manager of the Old Harbour zone for more than decade. Brown said the lines usually take a minimum of two hours to recharge once they become operational.