THA health workers still not paid

President of the Public Services Association (PSA) Watson Duke intends to pay another visit to the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development later this week.

On December 19, several members of staff led by Duke protested the non-payment of December salaries at the Division’s newly relocated head office at the Habib building in Scarborough.

On Saturday, a number of staff at the Division confirmed that they are yet to receive their December salaries.

Speaking with Newsday Tobago on Saturday, Duke described the issue as ‘an act of evil’.

“It has become an egotistical battle for the evil Secretary of Health who think that by punishing these daily paid she is teaching them not to want money and thus she is currently having workers to work for free...but the PSA and the Minority Council will visit her this week. When we do it would be a day of justice for these workers,” he said.

Meanwhile, several workers who spoke to Newsday on the condition of anonymity said that most of them did not have enough money to celebrate Christmas much less to ring in the New Year.

One employee, who identified herself as a single mother with two children said that she was unable to eat a decent meal on Christmas Day, much less buy gifts for her children.

“Imagine Christmas with no ham and no presents for your kids, this is what I endured as a result of not receiving my salary. For me that was fine but at the end of the day I have kids to take care of and see to their every need and as they would usually say Christmas is for kids. On the actual Christmas Day, I couldn’t even offer them a lavish Christmas meal, they had to settle for an ordinary pot of pelau,” she said.

But… even after that, she was hoping for an even better New Year.

“I explained the situation to my children who are ages seven and 10 and they understood quite clearly, but I promised them an even better New Year. I promised them that I would bake a ham and boil sorrel and take them under my wings in the kitchen while I make a sponge cake and the excitement flashed on their faces and it brought tears to my eyes… how do I still turn to them at this stage and tell them that I am unable to fulfill this responsibility, this really isn’t good enough,” she said.

Another staff said: “We feel as though our particular Secretary is suffering us… she really needs to go, we need a new Secretary to run the Division of Health because at this present moment she is incapable. Sometimes she would throw out stuff to us by saying, ‘she was the first Administrator in the Division so she knows how the run the Division, and other times you would hear her saying ‘she doesn’t need the staff’ but those attitudes really isn’t good enough,” he said.

Attempts to contact Secretary of the Division, Agatha Carrington via telephone for comment was unsuccessful, while an email was also sent to Communications Officer of the Division, Rion George.

At the December 21 sitting of the THA, Duke in his capacity as minority leader during the requests for leave to move the adjournment of the Assembly on definite matters of urgent public importance attempted to discuss the non-payment of December salaries to the Health Division as a matter of urgent public importance.

He noted in his motion that the Treasury Division of the Ministry of Finance has issued a public notice to move the date of government salaries to December 21 and pensions to December 22 and that the THA had paid most of its employees including all members of the House, on time and in keeping with the notice, but workers at the Division of Health because the decision was taken to move an entire staff into an incomplete building during the time for processing payments.

Duke sought to have the workers paid “by whatever means necessary so as to ensure that those workers also enjoy their Christmas holidays,” but Presiding Officer Dr Denise Tsoiafatt Angus denied the motion, saying the issue did not affect all of Tobago but a small subset of persons.