Public servants across the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have been given the assurance that there will be no cuts in their salaries while the governments battle the effects of a current global economic downturn.
The decision came out of last weekend’s meeting between sub-regional Public Sector Unions and OECS Heads of Government held in St.Kitts, chaired by St.Lucia’s Prime Minister Kenny Anthony.
The meeting was held against the backdrop of a query from the opposition United Workers Party as to whether the Government was preparing to lay off approximately 200 public servants by the end of March, as it seeks to bring the islands massive debt under control.
However, in response the government indicated that it had no such plans.
Mary Issac President of the Civil Service Association (CSA), who just returned from the talks said that trade union representatives adopted a position that there will be no salary cuts for civil servants at this time.”The Prime Ministers and Trade Union representatives met to consider challenges that we are face with in the sub-region.It was a very fruitful meeting as it gave up the opportunity to consider an eight point stabilization and growth plan and the trade unions and Prime Ministers agreed to form a partnership on the way forward,” she said.
She said several other issues were tabled for discussion and the parties agreed to a series of follow up meeting to ensure that the decisions arrived at in St.Kitts are implemented.
Issac said the CSA was not in a position to confirm the validity of the UWP’s query that 200 workers to be laid off, but said that to its knowledge it has not heard from the government of any such plans.
Word of the lay-offs came on the heels of the decision of the Barbados government to sack at least 3,000 civil servants, as a means of reducing its current accounts deficit.
Source-CMC
