Civil Servants Strike In St Lucia

Details

Published on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 10:56

Written by Sourced Information

Hits: 821

(CMC)  CASTRIES, St Lucia  – Civil servants stayed away from their jobs on Monday disrupting several government services and ignoring appeals from Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony and the main private sector organisation to end their industrial dispute over increased salaries.

The workers, represented by the Civil Service Association (CSA) had voted over the weekend to stay away from their jobs after rejecting the latest offer of four per cent and a package of other benefits that had been accepted by police, teachers, firemen and nurses, all of whom are members of the Trade Union Federation (TUF) that groups the public service unions.

The civil servants, chanting the union’s solidarity song, are insisting on a 9.5 per cent wage hike for the 2010/13 period that the government said it cannot meet.

Their action Monday severely curtailed operations at several departments including Customs and judicial services and CSA president Mary Issac warned that the action could escalate “until we hear something from our employer."

She said that while workers at the Air Traffic Control Department stayed on the jobs Monday because it is deemed an essential service and under the law, 30 day notice is given for industrial action, she was nonetheless pleased with the number of civil servants who stayed away from their jobs.

• < Prev
• Next >