The public sector will reopen on a phased basis from May 4, 2020 to continue to provide support to both private and public initiatives as Barbados moves to Phase 2 of the recovery plan in a new COVID-19 environment.
And Prime Minister Mia Mottley cautioned there will be a period of adjustment, but the system will also be reviewed in about two weeks.
During a national address on Wednesday night, the Prime Minister said this reopening was on the best advice of the public health officials, but it would be some time before a new normal is established and that hinges on the development of a vaccine.
In the meantime, those Government offices which have been functioning over the 24-hour curfew like the General Post Office, National Insurance Department and Customs and Immigration Departments will continue to do so, while others which “provide functions deemed critical at this time”, will commence operations with regular staff complements to provide full services.
The Prime Minister said some staff will work in the office and others will continue to work remotely.
“I consider it important to get the seeds of economic activity growing again, and departments such as those responsible for projects in the Ministry of Transport Works and Maintenance and the Lands Surveys Department in the Ministry of Housing and Rural Development are supportive of the kinds of targeted construction activities we need at this time,” she said.
Those which will operate with partial staff include the Town and Country Planning Department and the Urban Development Commission; Units in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment including the Public Investment Unit; and the Rural Development Commission in the Ministry of Housing, Lands and Rural Development.
“I need to stress that when these new measures come on stream, in all instances across all arms of government, the requirement of physical distancing must be observed. Only those engagements which do not put the public nor the officers in danger will be allowed,” Mottley said.
Additionally, personal protective equipment must be provided to staff, some adjustments will have to be made to physical spacing and masks are to be worn. Those who can work from home must continue to do so and a system of flexi-time and staff rotation will be implemented.
This system will be overseen by the permanent secretaries in the various ministries and Mottley told those public servants who are uncertain of their statues to check with the relevant heads in their departments.
She said a hotline would be set up to provide answers for persons whose businesses may be impacted. (SAT)
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