Duguid: Politicians need to be taken care of too

A senior minister and long-serving Member of Parliament Dr William Duguid is pleading a case for MPs, saying they are “people too” who are involved in a “labour of love”.

The Christ Church West MP reminded Barbadians that parliamentary representatives were not entitled to severance compensation, nor did they have security of tenure.

He was speaking in the House of Assembly on Tuesday as the Chamber took note of the report of the Parliamentary Reform Commission (PRC).

Stressing that MPs must not only serve “the people” but the public must understand that they needed to be treated well, he said: “Parliamentarians, in order to do their job effectively, we have to accept that we have to take care of them when they are in here and to some extent when they leave [Parliament].

“Your security of tenure is not the same as it is with other jobs. And sometimes people tend to forget that. The honourable prime minister said it was very clear; we don’t get severance when the people . . . in our constituency say ‘boy, well, you had a little time here, now we got to see somebody else’.”

Using himself as an example, the dental surgeon told the Lower House, the rules do not allow him to practise while he serves in Cabinet. He noted that having not practised as a surgeon for several years, it impacted his ability to return to his profession after serving as an MP.

“What has happened to my manual dexterity skills? What has happened when my insurers say, ‘well, in order for you to get insurance again, you got to go and do a refresher course, because you have not been practising for seven, 10, 15 years’,” the senior minister in the Prime Minister’s Office told the House.

“What happens the day after the election when you’re out of a job? So, the idea of a resettlement grant in this commission’s recommendations, I’m not saying yes or no, but it’s something we have to look at because, at the end of the day, parliamentarians are people too.” (IMC1)