The country’s largest public sector trade union has taken exception to new legislation which its leaders feel could trigger thousands of dollars in losses to public officers.
However, Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn is insisting that the Debt Settlement (Arrears) Act 2021 is “in no way intended to alter the terms and conditions of any public servants”, but rather, aims to provide more favourable repayment terms, particularly for debt incurred over the COVID-19 pandemic and coming out of other longstanding obligations.
On Thursday, Deputy General Secretary, Richard Green contended that the bill, which facilitates the creation and issuance of Series J bonds to settle Government’s obligations and liabilities, would unilaterally alter the terms of pensions and gratuities owed to public workers.
“This legislation alters the legitimate expectations of all public officers, many of whom plan to undertake major renovations of homes, educate their children, clear outstanding debt and provide financial stability at retirement,” Green told Barbados TODAY.
The legislation states explicitly that the bill would “allow the government to settle its obligations due to certain persons and make provision for the creation and issuance of Series J bonds to those persons”.
According to the Schedule of the Act, the Series J bonds have a maturity period of 42 months and require that the principal be paid over 42 equal installments with no interest earned on the investment. The legislation also references a natural disaster clause allowing the Government to further delay the repayment on the bonds, and according to Green, concerned members have been complaining.
When contacted by this newspaper, Minister Straughn insisted that nothing in the bill related to public servants and promised to clear the air with Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Wayne Waldron.
He noted that the legislation would allow government to clear debts for land acquired by previous governments over the years similar to the Series F bonds created in 2018 to clear $1.9 billion in arrears by previous administrations.
The minister explained that last year, in response to the spiralling COVID-19 situation, the administration was forced to replenish the unemployment fund with money borrowed from the NIS. He added that the new bill would assist with repaying the NIS on favourable terms to prevent cash flow issues in government.
“What we have just done has nothing to do with changing the terms and conditions of anything for public servants. Nothing at all. So I will reach out to Mr Waldron, because I am sure if that was the case, he would have raised it with my office or even with the Ministry of Finance and he certainly did not,” said Straughn.
“Bear in mind that generally speaking, arrears were being accrued up to September 2018 but we are obviously in the middle of a pandemic and I don’t know what the next five years will bring. So this is a specific tool that allows government to never again build up $1.9 billion in arrears owed to ordinary Barbadians which included National Insurance contributions for public servants and therefore gives the government the opportunity to be able to make things right by people. It in absolutely no way, alters anything to do with public servants, their gratuities, their pensions, or anything,” he reiterated.
