Vincy workers accuse Taiwanese company OECC of unfair labour practices 

Some former and current employees of the Taiwanese firm, Overseas Engineering & Construction Co. (OECC) to which the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has awarded a US$78 million contract to build a hospital in Arnos Vale, have accused the company of flouting SVG’s labour laws and favouring foreign employees over their Vincentian counterparts. 

Four former and current workers at OECC complained about differences in pay for local and foreign workers, working conditions, the company’s attitude to them, and the company subtracting holidays from the monthly-paid workers’ salaries.

Fernando Viato, OECC’s project manager on the hospital project, confirmed to iWitness News that expats are paid differently from Vincentians but this is because their terms and conditions of work are also different.

“No. It’s not the same. And the reason is very clear. We have some wages according to the law, because our human resources [team] is local, so they know what the price for one general helper, mason, carpenter, steel bender. And we have to be careful with that, because the local people have the opportunity to have the social security,” Viato told iWitness News.

“… according to the law, for example, this guy was complaining now with this letter, because of this letter, we are paying one month additionally because he was — or her — I know who we are talking about — was not advised, but this is because … we are making some changes, and the job was not involved in this moment, so we need to rearrange everything,” he said, referring to someone that the company fired recently.  

Viato told iWitness News that Vincentians work seven hours a day and are given one hour for lunch.

“These guys from abroad, they have to work from seven o’clock up to six o’clock in the evening. They work from Monday to Saturday. … Local people, they work 7 to 12 and 1 to 3,” he said, adding that the human resources department has advised that workers have to be paid for the lunch hour.

Viato told iWitness News that OECC has to push ahead with the project to meet the government’s timelines.

The Ralph Gonsalves government in Kingstown has borrowed US$120 million from Taiwan to build the Arnos Vale Acute Referral Hospital.

The government invited OECC to bid for and then awarded them a US$78 million contract to build the hospital, ignoring the advice of the World Bank to return to tender.

The government defended its decision to award the contract to OECC, saying returning to tender would have delayed the construction of the hospital by another year.

The hospital is slated to be completed in early 2028.

“The thing is that in this project, we have a commitment with the government of St. Vincent because St. Vincent government wants this project for the Vincentian people as soon as we can,” Viato told iWitness News.

“… according to the law, we can’t ask the local people to work during the holidays, but according to our schedule, which is very tight, we have to continue working these days. That’s why we have made some arrangements with these people from overseas, because they are committed to working with us during the month,” he said.

‘Tight’ construction schedule

iWitness News noted to Viato that the laws of SVG are applicable to everyone in the country. 

“Well, we have made these agreements with them, because otherwise we cannot accomplish with the tight schedule that I explained to you,” Viato said.

“That’s the problem. We have scheduled very tight and we know that we cannot force the people, we cannot ask you to work, because you are very used to have these holidays, so it’s okay,” he said, referring to the Vincentian workers. 

However, the Vincentian workers who spoke to iWitness News suggested that OECC is operating like a law unto itself, behaving as though it is doing the country a favour, rather than executing a project with a loan of hundreds of millions of dollars that Vincentians will have to repay.

“They need to put OECC in their place, especially Ralph,” one of the workers said, referring to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.

iWitness News has obtained a copy of a letter that a former OECC employee sent to Gonsalves after being fired.

In the letter, dated June 14, 2025, OECC said the worker took up employment with the company on Sept. 9, 2024.

“Our employment relationship continued until this date without any blemish. However, we regret to inform you that your position as an Office Clerk not require (sic) now. Thus, we hereby terminate your services effective June 20, 2025.”

The letter went on to say that the worker would be given an opportunity to work with the company again “if your position became available or should another position become available that suits your qualifications”.

It further said that the employee’s “remaining payment will be issued to you”.

Another former employee who was fired unceremoniously told iWitness News that they decided to speak to the media to warn people who might be considering working with the Taiwanese company as opposed to another establishment.

“Somebody might look to say, let me choose OECC, because the hospital is now starting, never to know if in a month or two or three months they will be terminated, when they could take another job and probably be in that job for a couple of years,” the former employee said. 

“They’re giving people the impression that Vincentians don’t want to work, and all these things. But that is not the case…” the former employee said, adding that some workers did not return to their jobs after being paid just over EC$300 for a fortnight’s work.

“I want them to be exposed, because there are other persons looking to work there but they don’t know the hell that they are going to meet,” the former employee said. “They are not good to work with. That’s what I am saying.”

A third former employee decried what they said was OECC’s attitude.

“You get the feeling that they’re doing St Vincent a favour. And honestly, they would have been if it were grant money. But it’s approximately EC$211 million EC dollars, which, if you round it off, is almost a quarter billion dollars that we have to pay back.”

The former worker said that no one should have to work under those circumstances. 

“… They don’t want to pay the locals what their qualifications is worth,” said the former worker, a university graduate.

“I have a BSc in mechanical engineering and am pursuing my master’s in architectural engineering. I’m well qualified, a lot more than even their engineers. I’m not being viewed as an engineer. I’m not even being compensated as an engineer. And plus, I would have suck salt for the country, but if it was grant money, but it’s a loan,” the former worker said.

“We are upset because we will be paying back this money and the fact that we can’t enjoy being employed, making some money from what we have to pay back and most going to them,” the former worker said, and accused OECC of wanting to get rid of all the Vincentian professionals on the project.

The workers said that at the same time, some of the expats working on the project are bringing their relatives, including their significant others, to work on the project.

“One person brought their sister from overseas to work as an office engineer and up to now, we don’t know what is an office engineer.”

Treat locals fairly

Meanwhile, a fourth person, who is still employed at OECC, told iWitness News that they believe that they would be fired soon.

“For me, it’s not just about exposure, but for the locals of St Vincent, we need to treat them fairly. Equality is important,” the worker said, adding that a foreigner who does not have a degree should not be paid more than a Vincentian who is a university graduate.

A spokesperson for the employees told iWitness News that OECC employs Vincentians, Taiwanese, Guatemalans and Filipinos on the hospital project, adding that there used to be Colombians working on the project but that is no longer the case.

The workers who spoke to iWitness News were employed in administration, while one of them was a technical expert in an engineering field.

They complained about having no specific job descriptions and being asked to perform duties across various fields, with an officer clerk being asked to perform human resources tasks, for example.

“With that being said, we are being underpaid,” the spokesperson said, noting that a company operating in SVG must abide by the country’s laws.

“People are being paid EC$1,200, 1,300  for admin work. The most an admin might make is 1,500, which should not be, and that is a secretary’s pay in the government,” the spokesperson said. 

“They don’t respect your degree. So don’t care if you come with a master’s, a PhD, a bachelor’s, they don’t respect it. Whatever they give you, just take it.”
The spokesperson said OECC wants to operate on the basis of contracts.

“They don’t want you to be entitled to vacation. You should not take sick leave. They don’t want you to miss a day at work — the whole nine yards, like back in slavery life.”

The spokesperson, however said that the expat workers, “have the world of benefits. 

“Because if, for example, a construction worker gets injured on site, they do not cover your expense because that’s on site. But if it’s a foreigner, they cover all the expenses for them.”

The spokesperson told iWitness News that some senior OECC staff has made demeaning comments about Vincentians, saying they are “shit and garbage to work with”.

One of the former workers told iWitness News: 

“A Filipino said this to a Guatemalan, letting him know it’s better to hire foreign workers than the Vincentian workers, because we are ‘garbage to work with’.”

The dismissed workers said they did not have access to a microwave oven or refrigerator, although the company had imported several of these units to be used by the expat workers.

“They don’t drop in people sick leave,” the spokesperson told iWitness News, adding that one member of the admin staff had to demand that sick leave notices be submitted to the National Insurance Services (NIS).

“They don’t pay strictly and they don’t pay their NIS either,” the spokesperson said, adding that the NIS had visited the company because of the issues.

“A lengthy email was sent [by the NIS] with a document … that state that they need to pay NIS contributions, and a (senior OECC) staff member stated that nobody for OECC is paying; NIS would have to run them down for the money. 

“So basically, they are being paid as an independent contractor, where are they getting everything with no tax or NIS deduction….

“They gathered a meeting with all the site workers and they told them if they discuss their pay amongst each other or on the outside, they’re gonna fire them.

“Now, these site workers, a general helper is making $50, a driver making $65, a skilled electrician, a master electrician, is not even making probably $100 good — $75. 

These overseas staff, their allowance is triple all the locals’ pay, and that’s just the allowance. That’s not even their pay,” the spokesperson told iWitness News, adding that expats are paid in US dollars. 

“They get like between US$1,100 to US$1,500.”

Issue with Vincentian work ethic

Meanwhile, Viato told iWitness News that most of the workers on the hospital project are Vincentians and they are not accustomed to work on holidays.

“We are respecting all the holidays. We have some part of people that are from abroad. So with these people, we are working during some holidays,” Viato told iWitness News, adding that the expats rest on Sundays.

“Some of the local workers … they have been saying that they want to work overtime, so they volunteer, ask to work with us. I think that only the last holiday they worked with us, but they were paid according to the law,” he said, adding that the company’s HR department would be better positioned to speak to the pay that the law demands for work on holidays. 

He said that the company provides sick leave. He said OECC pays for medical bills for its expat staff, adding that the day before the interview, one of the expat workers fell ill and the doctor granted him 10 days’ sick leave, which the company was honouring. 

Viato told iWitness News that OECC does have some issues with the work ethic of some Vincentians.

“We have been talking to the people because we have to start working seven o’clock. And they used to come, 7:40, 8, 8:30. Sometimes, they leave at noon. They go to take their lunch, and they don’t come back,” Viato said.

“We have a guy working with us as a welder. If he doesn’t like the work that we assigned to him to do, he disappears for three days, four days, a week,” Viato said, adding that the welder is still employed with the company because he is a good welder.

“There is a [shortage] or welders but this man he is very good. So he knows how to work and we need him but we have to wait until he decides to come back.”

As regards the complaints about access to a microwave and a refrigerator, Viato noted that the project is still in the early stages, and all the on-site staff facilities are not yet in place.