One of the top priorities for the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) is addressing the pending changes in the employment statuses of senior public sector workers.
President of the NUPW Akanni McDowall made that statement on Sunday in response to Government’s plan to make senior positions across the Public Service contractual.
During a service at St George Parish Church, McDowall said that despite the challenges brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the union has been working to find solutions on various issues and would continue to do so.
“Despite these challenging times, the union has accomplished much, even more significant in the context of the pandemic. We vigorously negotiated with the Government to ensure that the BOSS [Barbados Optional Savings Scheme] programme was voluntary and not forced . . . .
“We have been able to make some headway in improving the lives of public servants by ensuring our public officers were appointed. We are still in the process of addressing those who fell outside those specific set of criteria.
“And high on the agenda is the discussion about altering the senior public office posts and the implications for public officers. These are but a snapshot of some of the achievements and matters we continue to work on for our members,” McDowall said.
The NUPW president added that they would continue to fight on behalf of their members.
“We remain firm in our resolve to fight against injustices perpetrated against our membership because quality representation for our workers is our goal and delivering equality for all is our defining purpose as a union,” he said.
This week the union is celebrating its 76th anniversary with a series of activities during public worker’s week.
The theme is Trade Union Resilience In The Midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. (TG)
