The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Employees at Morton Salt, Inagua's primary employer, have returned to work albeit on a three-day week, their union president said yesterday.

Jennifer Brown, head of the Bahamas Industrial Manufacturers and Allied Workers Union (BIMAWU), told Tribune Business: "Employees were working since last week. The company was paying workers to help clean up the community. There was a lot of clean-up that needed to be done within the community following the hurricane."

The BIMAWU represents Morton Salt's line-staff, and Ms Brown continued: "This week everyone is back to work. Employees are on a three-day work week. Right now everyone trying to get the plant back up and running.

"The company is trying to provide work for them, so a lot of persons are not working in areas where they would normally work. Some people may be doing maintenance or repair work right now."

Morton Salt, a subsidiary of the German K&S Group, which acquired the company in 2009, acknowledged that there had been some structural damage as a result of Hurricane Irma.

"We have sustained some damage to buildings and structures on the property as a result of the hurricane," the company said in a statement. Officials have yet to provide specific details on the extent of the damage as well as the cost.

The company had shut down its plant on September 6 as Hurricane Irma approached. Morton Salt employs 145 people.