By Venus Honore-Gopie Friday, October 23 2009

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Long walk: Chinese workers with Beijing Luijian Construction Corporation walk along Ramsaran Trace, Cunupia yesterday where the camp in which they liv...

Four Trinidad and Tobago (TT) nationals hired by a Port-of-Spain security firm to stand guard at a Chinese labour camp at Ramsaran Trace, Bejucal Road, Cunupia were taken for questioning at the Chaguanas Police Station on Tuesday.

Yesterday, sources said armed police and immigration officers took the local security guards into custody after reports that Nigerian security guards at the camp have been working illegally in the country.

Sources said the owner of the security firm had to provide documents such as copies of identification cards and birth papers to show police officers that the four guards were TT nationals. The four were eventually released.

Their brief detention stemmed from an investigation of reports that Nigerian guards, who were assigned by the local security firm to the camp on Saturday, were illegal immigrants.

Local guards were then sent in to replace the Nigerians who were removed from the camp. It still remains unclear whether the Nigerians are here legally.

Sources said this security firm was replaced on Wednesday by another company which employs only locals. Guards were posted at the camp last weekend after more than 70 Chinese labourers employed with Beijing Liujian Construction Corporation TT Limited (BLCC) boycotted work at the Aranjuez Government Secondary and Five Rivers Government Secondary Schools on October 13 and were arrested outside the Chinese Embassy in Port-of-Spain.

The workers took up protest action by walking from their camp to the Uriah Butler Highway after complaining that two months wages were owed to them and about the inhumane conditions in which they live.

On BLCC’s request, the Ministry of National Security has cancelled 32 work permits and an additional 70 work permits are being reviewed.

Sources confirmed yesterday that some of the Chinese workers were flown out of the country on Wednesday and more are expected to leave today.

Work has since stopped at both construction sites with only about 20 workers working at the Five Rivers, Arouca site since BLCC requested a few days from the Education Facilities Company Limited (EFCL) so they could resolve their internal problems.

The kitchen of the camp remains closed because of its unsanitary conditions after an inspection last week by public health officers from the County Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) in Caroni . BLCC was ordered to clean and refurbish the kitchen, toilet and bathing facilities.

A report on the findings was sent to the Ministry of Health on Monday. Councillor for St Helena/Warrenville Shama Deonarine said she has been in contact with the CMOH office and work at the camp is being done. She said she was told the kitchen is to be tiled.

Overall, an estimated 120 workers will be sent back to China and BLCC is expected to replace them with new immigrants once applications for work permits are granted by the Ministry of National Security.

Workers have refused to leave the country until their outstanding wages are paid to them. According to sources, the Ministry of National Security permits a 14-day period after a work permit is cancelled for a worker to remain after which they must leave. Newsday learnt the workers had a contract for nine months with BLCC and were supposed to return to China. However, BLCC wanted the employees to remain until the two project sites are completed.