AntiguaNewsRegional Antigua PM warns of retrenchment in public service if unrealistic wage demands are made by Barbados Today 01/05/2023 written by Barbados Today 01/05/2023 2 min read A+A- Reset Share FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappThreadsBlueskyEmail 393 International Day of Workers, Browne said workers can be assured that his administration, which in 2018 gave a five per cent increase to workers “and we committed to do more than five per cent. “We are about to conclude those negotiations and I am absolutely sure that at the end of the day when we would have resolved the issues…that we would be able to maintain the positive parity for workers.” He said this was being done “amid very difficult circumstances” brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “We could have said to public sector workers because of the devastating effects of COVID that we do not have the capacity to give an increase. There are many countries that have taken that position, but we are a work organisation and we recognise that we must go the extra mile to improve the lot of workers in this country. “But I ask our workers to be reasonable. I ask you to engage us constructively because we are not taking the position that we are not giving increases. The issue is how much and again we ask you to be reasonable. “Because if you ask or make demands that are unreasonable that’s beyond the means of the government it will be self-defeating because you will force the government to retrench. On the other hand, it could be inflationary, in that if prices increase too soon and by too large an amount it could increase prices and that again will be self-defeating. “So let us understand that we must engage constructively. We are not seeking to resist increases,” he reiterated. Browne said he was disappointed at the decision of some teachers to embark upon industrial action recently affecting schools for at least two weeks even though “all of the demands you have made, we have satisfied those demands. “.We did not argue that we did not wish to meet the demands and yet still many of them took the destructive action of striking for almost two weeks, literally depriving our students of two weeks of contact time. “I say to the workers of this country that that type of behaviour is self-defeating. There is no value in fighting a government that is cooperating with you,” Browne said, adding that he hopes when the other unions come forward to negotiate “they will have a more constructive approach and be reasonable with their demands to make sure that we can give increases”. CMC]]> 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 Cellphone smuggling is prison system’s biggest challenge–Ex-commissioner 20/07/2025 Guardian Life strengthens commitment to women’s cancer care across the Caribbean 16/07/2025 AG: Removal from EU blacklist clears way for business in Europe 16/07/2025