Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
Workers at the National Water Commission's head office on Marescaux Road, Kingston, used their vehicles to block the main entrance as they continued their protest action yesterday. - NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
COMMUNITIES ISLANDWIDE were yesterday severely affected, as National Water Commission (NWC) workers completed their first day of strike action.
In Portmore, St. Catherine, the situation was especially bad with numerous persons reporting that they were without water from 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Communities in Portland, including Anchovy, Dolphin Bay and Snow Hill, were also hampered.
The Norman Manley Inter-national Airport in Kingston was also reportedly affected.
The NWC workers are registering their dissatisfaction over the protracted wage negotiations.
Up to press time last night, there was no word as to when normality would resume.
For several hours yesterday into last night, NWC executives and officials of the four unions representing the approximately 1,700 supervisory and pre-supervisory categories of workers met at the Labour Ministry trying to resolve the impasse.
Representatives from the Finance Ministry and the Office of the Prime Minister were also in attendance.
At one stage of the talks last night, Granville Valentine, senior negotiating officer at the National Workers Union (NWU), told The Gleaner that if an agreement was not reached, the workers would remain on strike for as long as possible.
Meanwhile, the NWC in a statement last night warned that residents could continue to experience either low water pressure, intermittent supply or no piped water at all.
