Submitted by Anthony Davis

“The position which will see 3000 public servants placed on the breadline between January 15 and March 15, 2014, is “unfortunate”, and clearly . . . a situation where Government had no other choice. This is the position being held by the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), and articulated by its president, Cedric Murrell, following a meeting with Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Chris Sinckler, this morning. What I will say to people generally in this country, because we don’t know who is going home, is that they must have faith. They must have an understanding that there are times when an economy goes through trials and tribulations. (But) what we have to recognize is that the only way we can positively move from this position by growing this economy. By growing this economy, it means that every single person in this country, has to see how best they can contribute to the sum total of the output of this country. With regard to a perceived snub by Government, and them not being informed about the plans to sever workers, he noted that that matter had been discussed and resolved – page 3 of “Barbados Today, dated 18 December, 2013

My, my, my, My mind boggles, Mr. Murrell!

What kind of drivel are you spewing to 3000 people – whom you and the other head honchos are supposed to be representing, but are doing a very poor job of doing – by telling them to have “faith” in these harsh economic times? Why don’t you, and your ilk who are in your tax bracket – and especially you three – give at least 10% of the money you receive – whether you have earned it or not is a horse of another colour; I do not think that you have earned yours, as you have done a great disservice to the public servants of our country –  to the Inland Revenue, to help this Government which has boxed in itself by having an incompetent Minister of Finance, and help those you are supposed to represent?

The three of you can have some “faith”!

You could still live your luxurious lifestyles in your gated communities, and be part of the upper echelon of our society. You still will be able to buy your groceries without caring about the prices – unlike many of those citizens of this country and those who choose to make it home who already are leaving many things at the checkout counters because of the price-gouging going on, which this Government promised to do something about. But, like many other things, that will be done “tomorrow”. By that time many people would have died of starvation because they cannot pay the exorbitant prices!

The problem is that it is the elderly who leave most of the goods at the checkout counters, and then those who work for such paltry wages that a loaf of whole grain bread costs just as much as their hourly wage. I, and many other Barbadians, have faith, but not in this Government!.I do not think that those public servants will have it in you and the other two with their Cheshire cat grins with you, any more either.

Pray tell me, Mr. Murrell, which of the 3000 who are to be fired – retrenched is a very poor euphemism in this case – can take “faith” to the bank and say: I have no money to pay my mortgage, but I have brought some “faith” with me! How about the payment of bills, Mr. Murrell? Will the people accept “faith” in lieu? How about clothing themselves and their scions, Mr. Murrell? Can they take “faith” with them. Being public servants, some of them would have just used the opportunity given by Government to help with the purchase of vehicles, to buy a vehicle on HP. Can they take “faith” to the relevant salesman/saleswoman?

And the list goes on, Mr. Murrell!

“Unfortunate” is another word which you have wrongly used, Mr. Murrell – unless you mean it in the sense of infelicitous, unsuitable, deplorable, or regrettable. According to “Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary”, the one you may be referring to means “not favoured by fortune: unsuccessful, unlucky” or “marked or accompanied by or resulting in misfortune.” Clearly, Mr. Murrell, you cannot mean “not favoured by fortune”, because one could see the smoke signals from thousands of miles away, yet this Government decided to plough ahead like some juggernaut and introduced Constituency Councils – probably to give friends and family some of the fat calf which the last administration had left for them – and introduced two different football championships when one would have also done the trick. Moreover, it wasted $60million – which the Minister of Finance pillaged from the NIS Funds – by dropping it into a bottomless pit called “All Seasons”.

The tax payers are also paying heavily for the sweetheart deal given to “Butch” Stewart. So, Mr. Murrell, there is nothing “unfortunate” about this. The Prime Minister said that band aid will not be used, but I think that his Minister of Finance has used up not only  enough for himself, an this Government, but also enough to go around the earth at least once!

How best can the 3000 that are being fired “contribute to the sum total of the output of this country”, Mr. Murrell? Clearly they cannot spend what they do not have.

Do you think that they will have enough of what they get from the NIS left over to become big spenders?

How many will end up on welfare?

How do you expect the economy to grow if people do not have money to spend, and have to rely on the Welfare Department?

The economy cannot grow in such a case as it depends on the spending power of those who reside in the country.

It does not work with people who will be fired early next year.

That will probably exacerbate the unemployment problem.

How would any of you like to be going to bed every night – especially at Christmas time – not knowing if you will have a job after 15 January/15 March?

Would you be able to sleep peacefully and profoundly, honchos of CTUSAB?

I very much doubt it! Every waking moment will be one of frustration, and the feeling of being hung out to dry.

You have sold those you are supposed to protect down the river!

What a sad day for this country!

“Cowards die many times before their deaths.”

One cannot even trust the NHC in the purchase of Government land, because they have waited until people have paid in full for their house spots, then to turn them over to Al Barrack! So, some of them may have “purchased” them, and may now have to look for money for a different piece of land, and hope that it they are not fraudulently deprived of it, as is the case with the NHC. He (Mr. Murrell) noted “that the matter had been discussed, and resolved”. How nice of the Minister of Finance to discuss the matter with you after the fact, and how nice of you to accept his excuse – no matter how paltry it was. That probably ranks in the league of the sweetheart deal “Butch” Stewart received!”

This could not have happened in a European country – especially not Germany, Italy, France, or Spain – unless you were looking for trouble. The unions in this country have no backbone, no decorum, no pride, no self-esteem!

All they are doing is appeasing a Government which could not care less about the populace of this country.They have promised a lot, but have reneged on most of them – especially on education by increasing the fees at BCC, and refusing to pay the fees for the scions of the poor, the needy, and the vulnerable at the UWI Cave Hill Campus but, then again, enemies’ promises are made to be broken!

They have brought this country to its knees!