Negotiations between St. Croix trash haulers and Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II have ended a two-day strike — at least for now.
On Tuesday, four contractors who remove garbage from public housing communities and government offices went on strike because they are owed $2 million by the V.I. government for work done as far back as 1995.
After discussion with James, representatives from Bates Trucking and Trash Removal, Fergutrax Heavy Equipment, Dan’s Trucking and G&T Trucking agreed to a $416,000 payment on Friday for work done between March and April of this year.
Both James and the truckers have said that if the payment isn’t made, the strike will resume.
In addition to Friday’s payment, the agreement includes a payment on Aug. 27 for services provided between May and July and a provision for a contract to be drawn up for August and September.
Because some of the trucking companies owe thousands of dollars to the Internal Revenue Bureau at the same time they are owed thousands of dollars by the government, the agreement allows the businesses to credit taxes owed for 1995 through 1998.
The haulers have threatened to strike because of nonpayment by the government before. In May the same companies stopped collecting trash for a short time but returned to work after the government paid a portion of its debt.
