Prime Minister Gaston Browne said it was a “major faux pas” for the management of St. John’s Development not to provide information about the Global Ports agreement to staff.
“I think the fears are real in the sense that nothing was said to the staff,” Browne said after it emerged that the staff, through their union, is demanding answers from the SJDC.
Browne said the Antigua Trades & Labour Union wrote to the SJDC “asking for an update at least two weeks ago and nothing was said.”
“I think that in itself was a major faux pas because the staff should have been engaged,” Browne told his radio station over the weekend.
The prime minister said even though there was information in the public domain there is still an obligation to engage staff.
Browne said his government will ensure that workers will not be displaced.
“We will make sure that the staff will continue to be employed and that there would be no displacement and what ever benefits there are due.
“The only change that will be made is that some of the staff may have to be transferred or seconded whatever it is possibly transferred. And, when I say, transferred they would have to be paid their severance payments, transferred to Global Ports,” Browne
He added that “It is expected that global ports would take over probably about 35 to forty members of staff to run the operations there.”
He warned however that Global Ports will not be allowed to “bring in people to run it.”
“I mean they can have the top management to provide the guidance and so on but fundamentally it would be Antiguans and Barbudans who would continue to operate the facility but under private management,” Browne said.
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Who is in charge of SJDC??? How could SJDC not inform its own staff? No wonder there is so much protest action, broken marriages, and shitty customer service in our society. We have a SERIOUS COMMUNICATION PROBLEM!!!
Hitler U can tell people who they can hire?sometimes I think ur clothes does be too tight so it limits the blood flow to ur brain therefore causing u to talk pure Fu// something
This is testament that no real consultations were done. We get what we pay for see. The bubble will burst eventually because this type of leadership just will not endure.
“Faux pas!?” How many more blunders, mistakes, embarrassing or tactless acts must be endured before the promised transparency before the acts begins?
FAUX PAS
When managers of State Corporations behave as a law unto themselves, the Executive arm of Government shall act decisively either to expose their high-handedness or ‘…blunderous propensity.’
These two little words mildly used by the PM in describing the attitude of the management towards its staff, in actuality ‘…employees of the Government,’ simply means ‘…an embarrassing blunder.’
Moreover, it exposes the apparent ‘…blunderous propensity of the Board of Directors,’ most of whom are, invariably, ‘…figureheads or hangers-on.’
The proposed change in management will most certainly address this situation.
‘
Viewed from another perspective, with managerial and possible operational changes that could affect (a) ‘..job security; (b) …redundancy; and (c) …accrued benefits,’ it shows callous disregard, not only by the ‘SJ DC’s Management’ in apprising its staff of developments within the State Corporation.
Constitutionally, it runs counter to one of the principles upon which the nation was founded.
It states ‘…The people of Antigua and Barbuda respect the principles of social justice, and therefore, believe that the operation of their economic system should result in the material resources of their community being so distributed as to serve the common good…’ [CO: 1981: Principle A].
It begs the question ‘…Who watches and reports to the Executive how these Corporations are managed and operated?’
The St. John’s Development Corporation staffs should be the first to know after or before the deal was signed by the government. It is time for we the people of Antigua and Barbuda stand-up and shut this country down until the government do right by the people…now much more can we take before we realized what we have to run from this country.
As manager I don’t care I am getting my $8,000. 00 per month, government vehicle, free gas, travel allowance, boom
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