Says 'no work, no pay' policy applies to all civil servants�
PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said on Wednesday that the union-initiated meetings and demonstrations held by workers for the early payment of their 3.3 per cent cost-of-living adjustments were "becoming political."
Wescot-Williams said too that the "no work, no pay policy" was applicable to all civil servants across the board and noted that the non-application of the policy had been a "goodwill gesture." She said during the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday that efforts would be made to apprise workers of the policy and the unions had been asked to help.
She said too that while the 5.3 per cent cost-of-living adjustment had been included in the draft 2011 budget, that draft budget had a deficit of NAf. 113 million.
She said government did not dispute workers' right to association and assembly, but these rights came with responsibilities to ensure that service to the people was still guaranteed. She said many civil servants had remained on the job during the meetings, as they had understood government's "predicament."
Alluding to the presence of Members of Parliament (MPs) at the workers' meetings, Wescot-Williams said the matter was becoming political. Among the MPs who addressed workers during the course of their meetings were National Alliance (NA) leader MP William Marlin, NA MP George Pantophlet and United People's (UP) party faction leader MP Romain Laville. They all expressed solidarity with the workers.
Several other MPs also were present at one of the peaceful demonstrations held outside the Government Administration Building last week, including UP MP Johan "Janchi" Leonard and NA MPs Louie Laveist, Frans Richardson, George Pantophlet and Hyacinth Richardson.
Wescot-Williams said that when MPs took the opportunity to break down the government it could only be classified as politics being played.
Wescot-Williams said some MPs suffered from "short memory syndrome" or SMS. She said one MP, referring to the NA leader, had indicated that the sitting coalition had no governing programme in place as yet, when his former government also hadn't had any governing programme for the 15 months it had been in office.
That NA-led government was supported by then-independent Island Councilman Theo Heyliger, who now heads UP which forms the governing coalition with Wescot-Williams' Democratic Party (DP).
She said she took "serious offence" at statements made by Laveist, who she said had made the Pelican issue one of gender. Wescot-Williams said that if she did not respect the PM's office she would have told Laveist where to place blame for this issue. She said if Laveist was looking for a "horse to ride" he should not "jump on the back of the Prime Minister."
"Don't make this a gender issue. I don't think he would want to go there," the Prime Minister said.
Ryan Babel United Nations Madagascar Redrow Andrew Cole Foreign policy
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