All public officers must be paid on time
MINISTER of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan is calling all public workers, whether they are appointed or not, to be paid on time.
He made the call yesterday during the debate on the Public Service (Appointment) Bill 2020, where he related an incident where a constituent visited his home in tears, having visited the bank and finding nothing in her account by way of salary.
“That hurt me. But it is not the first time that I have heard the stories. And I want to say here very clearly to those people responsible for paying the public officers of this country. It is reprehensible... for a person who is guaranteed to go to the bank on payday and find a salary, not to be interested in ensuring that others who do not have the luxury of having been appointed, can also go to the bank on the day appointed and find a salary.”
Minister Jordan said that a result of this late payment, persons find themselves with a bad credit history through no fault of their own.
“This BLP government – and the reason why I am so happy and proud to be both a member of this party and a member of the government constituted by this party, is a party that faces these issues frontally. And so even though some may say it reflects on us because we are in government, it is a matter that is causing people issues and so it is a matter that we will speak to and address.”
“I just want to put those persons responsible on notice that we are not prepared to allow this kind of situation to continue. It is mistreating people. It is not being fair to the ordinary, hardworking public officers of this country who are not yet appointed and who will hear from time to time that their names dropped off of Smartstream or whatever it is. That is just not the way you treat people and this government is all about treating people properly.”
He noted that once the Act is passed, a significant portion of the backlog should be cleared. “Once this is done, the Ministry of the Public Service has to get on with the work of dealing both with the anomalies that he has already identified but also with the regular work of appointing people once they have been in the service for a particular period of time.”
“...And so the Ministry of the Public Service has a responsibility to the human beings who are working in the public service, in the service of this country to make sure they are treated properly and that they are treated in accordance with the laws of Barbados,” he said. (JH)