Local News Former workers singing the blues by Barbados Today 11/01/2019 written by Barbados Today Updated by Stefon Jordan 11/01/2019 2 min read A+A- Reset Share FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 275 A representative from a local worker’s union is charging that persons who have worked for a decade in the public sector and were retrenched as a part of the BERT Programme have not received any financial settlement. Speaking to Barbados TODAY, Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers Wayne Walrond said that the way in which workers who have completed a decade in the public service were being treated, was a blatant act of discrimination by Government. “ If they are saying that these persons working for ten years are not eligible for benefits then it is an act of discrimination. If you have a set of workers that you know are not eligible for termination pay then it is discrimination to send them home knowing full well that you are sending them home without any benefits,” Walrond said, adding that the disenfranchised workers were at their wits’ end. “Right now you have persons in the NUPW for example with ten years and over who are being threatened by debt collectors, people are at their wits’ end and they do not even have money to get by for a few months,” he said. Walrond told Barbados TODAY that he did not believe it was the intention of Government to send home persons without their appropriate benefits. Therefore, the union believes that persons with ten years in the public service should not have been sent home and should have received the same benefits as appointed public servants. In fact, Walrond believes that if Government knew persons with ten years in the public service would have left empty-handed then they should not have been sent home. You Might Be Interested In Crystal Beckles-Holder, 2nd runner up in regional competition GUYANA: Body of child found after gold mine collapses Barbadians asked to help with return tickets for Haitians “ [They received] no kind of money and they are at their wits’ end. I am saying that if government realizes that there is a technical issue in the law about releasing pension and gratuity before 60 [years-old]. If they know these persons will be affected by that they ought not to have sent them home.[ They should] have ensured that they made some sort of arrangement that they can still get some form of compensation. They cannot have these workers out there waiting. The treasury is not going to touch it unless the pension legislation supports it,” he said, The Acting General Secretary of the NUPW said that the workers desperately needed to be compensated because workers who worked in the public service for two to nine years had received their compensation while these workers with over ten years had not “received a cent and this is a serious issue that needs to be corrected,” he told Barbados TODAY. Barbados Today Stay informed and engaged with our digital news platform. The leading online multimedia news resource in Barbados for news you can trust. You may also like Updated: Wanted man Zion Jackson in custody 18/02/2025 Update: Person of interest identified and charged 18/02/2025 Man remanded on firearm and ammunition charges 18/02/2025