WASA communications manager Daniel Plenty says the organisation is doing an audit of employee attendance at its head office.

This follows a protest by daily-paid workers on Wednesday over an “illegal” register.

In response to an e-mail from Newsday about the protest, Plenty said WASA "wishes to confirm that there is an ongoing investigation involving a small number of employees attached to one of its facilities at the head office complex. The investigation includes an audit of employee attendance at the facility and the authority has been in ongoing communication with the representative union for the employees, the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW), on the matter.”

He said WASA is committed to completing the investigation and engaging the union with the aim of settling the matter as soon as possible.

The workers were objecting to the implementation of what they said was an illegal time and attendance register and subsequent disciplinary action.

Russell Mohammed, secretary of the WASA Workers Section, National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW), said the workers had been told to come in whenever they wanted, sign whenever they wanted, and leave whenever they wanted. In addition, they had been instructed not to submit sick leave certificates and instead sign as being present on those days.

He said workers who have said they are not going to submit this to a time and attendance register "have been ridiculed, maligned and blacklisted to the extent where they have taken away these workers’ pay for four fortnights consecutively.”

Mohammed said numerous calls and letters had been sent to management but the union had received no response.