Dialogue the way to go

THE EDITOR: I am trying to make sense of the “mandate” that the Prime Minister issued on December 18 and which was made without fear or malice. The PM announced that from January 15 the public sector would be made into quasi-safe zones and therefore all public servants who are not fully vaccinated by that date will not be allowed to work or be paid. And as far as I am aware, no union is in support of this mandate.

Well yes, where have we reached in this country? Where exactly are we going?

Ever since this pandemic started it was expected that the Government would have to make difficult decisions to protect citizens. However, as time progressed I have come to the belief that this administration has made several missteps and showed bias in terms of which businesses could reopen. These missteps and poor judgments have cost the country millions of dollars and have put thousands of citizens on the breadline.

This disparity and lack of sensitivity are things that I am still angry about as thousands of people were robbed of making an income and were left to beg or collect hampers in order to feed their families.

The Government also behaved very high-handedly, making several important decisions without the input of stakeholders, and even they had to ask why they were not consulted on numerous matters. Has democracy ended due to covid19? I ask again, what is really going on in this country? We seem to lack intelligence and creative thinking and therefore must copy everything from other parts of the world to survive.

Some of the decisions made left me wondering about the IQ of those in charge.

Now public servants are under threat. The AG said the normal collective bargaining process does not apply in a pandemic. Is that so? Can someone please tell me where I can find that in the Constitution?

In a time like this, where there is so much depression and increased poverty, rather than the ministers humbling themselves and meeting with the unions on how work can progress in a pandemic, they have once again chosen their usual high-handed approach of making decisions without the involvement of stakeholders.

Everyone in this country should know that the power of the people is priceless and if the unions do protest in any way, there will be serious consequences. Does the Government really want to risk that now? Or does it believe that the unions will just make noise for a day and then give in to the covid19 “mandate” because they have no choice?

The Government had better take note that people do not need to protest in the streets and shout for better working conditions as in the past. They can simply stay home or go to work and do nothing. There are creative ways that people can protest to let their disappointment be known and felt. And as no union is in support of the vaccine “mandate,” which is exactly what it is, then what happens then? Can we afford a nationwide shutdown in January? And if that happens, who will be responsible?

I kindly ask the Government to stop this nonsense. Its arrogance is on display and has been for a while now. While I have no problem with more people getting vaccinated since our healthcare is under immense pressure, I cannot and will not support any bullying and scare tactics. Threatening people’s jobs is not the way.

I hope the Government will have meaningful dialogue with all unions. It’s time to try humility and effective communication. It is not that hard.

J ALI

via e-mail