BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AS a show of appreciation for extended years of service, the Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) is holding a ceremony this afternoon (Apr. 17) at Manhattan Gardens to honour five of its longest-serving employees.
George Griffin, Leonard Hanley, Cephus Freeman, Ronald Thomas and William Rogers will receive tokens of appreciation for their longstanding service as garbage collectors. Minister of Health the Hon. Rupert Herbert and his Permanent Secretary, Elvis Newton, will be present, as will SWMC officials and family and friends of the honourees.
Speaking exclusively to SKNVibes, SWMC Operations Manager Wilmon McCall said the ceremony was another of the company’s efforts to appropriately and deservingly reward its staff.
“These guys have done yeoman’s service in keeping the country clean on a daily basis. We feel we can’t do enough to honour them but whatever we can do, we will do. So we think the programme is an ideal event for us to show our appreciation for the work they did and are currently doing.
“Take George Griffin, for example. He’s 76 years old and he has been one of our garbage collectors for 57 years. He has raised his family throughout his tenure at SWMC. He said the work was very satisfying even though the salary was not that much, but he is proud of the service he did for his country,” said McCall.
The Manager noted that these types of initiatives were important in order to instil and boost staff morale.
“You wonder what keeps these guys going, what motivates them to be up bright and early doing the job. The garbage doesn’t smell good, the people don’t treat them very well and the pay is not very good, but they keep going. SWMC is very grateful for the dedication these persons have displayed in executing their jobs.”
