SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE of Assembly Michael Carrington has slammed as “nonsense” last week’s industrial action by the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) over failed pay talks.
Last Thursday and Friday, the NUPW embarked on what it deemed “two days of protest and resistance” by calling on its members to stay away from work.
The action was in response to failed negotiations between Government and the union over the latter’s proposed 23 per cent salary increase for public servants.
The NUPW said public servants had taken the brunt of Government’s draconian cost-cutting measures and deserved better.
‘Pressure group’
Addressing a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) meeting at the Lawrence T. Gay Memorial School on Sunday evening, Carrington charged that the union was now acting like a “pressure group” and not genuinely on behalf of its members.
“I wasn’t happy because a union initiative did not come off. What I was happy about was that the thousands of civil servants in this country saw the nonsense for what it was and came out in their numbers and went to work. They must be congratulated for that,” he said.
The St Michael West Member of Parliament expressed concern about the path the trade union movement was taking and said the interests of the country should be put first.
He praised Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer Suckoo for the way in which she handled the situation.
Flopped
He added the planned industrial action flopped because Barbadians saw the bigger picture and understood the country could not afford a 23 per cent salary increase as this time.
He told party faithful there was more at stake than someone’s ego, putting someone in power or trying to change the Government because there was a general election.
“What we are talking about is the soul of this country. What we are talking about is what is good for Barbados. They recognised it and they did the right thing.”
Scourge of crime
During his near 30-minute contribution, Carrington criticised politicians for politicising the scourge of crime.
“Crime should not be a narrow and partisan political issue. Crime affects all of us and it has the potential to destroy everything that we hold dear in this country. So it bothers me when I hear a former [attorney general] want to suggest that the Government is being too soft on crime . . . . One murder is one too many. I don’t care who the attorney general is or was, crime should never be seen as a partisan political issue,” he said. (SDB Media)
