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| St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas and members of the local Press Corps at Tuesday's News Conference. (Photo by Erasmus Williams) |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (AUGUST 11TH 2004) – The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Administration says all government employees must enjoy security of tenure and appropriate retirement benefits.
“We are fully determined to ensure that all Government workers, be they Labour, UNEP, UPP or PAM, enjoy security of tenure and be properly protected from arbitrary dismissal. We therefore intend to provide all full-time Government workers appropriate letters of appointment and to make the necessary legislative changes to give them greater job security that we have promised (in his Labour Day Address),” St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas said during a News Conference on Tuesday.
Dr. Douglas said his ruling Labour Government is strongly committed to the view that all Government workers, established and non-established alike, should enjoy appropriate retirement benefits to assist them in maintaining an adequate standard of living upon retirement.
He said Government will undertake the necessary actuarial studies with a view to extending the coverage of the Federation’s pension legislation to include all full-time Government workers by year-end.
Prime Minister Douglas said the initiatives of the Government are consistent with the goal of his ruling St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party to remove any discrimination between established and non-established workers.
“In keeping with this objective, we will transform the Establishment Division of the Government into a full Human Resources Division that would be responsible for the management and development of all human resources in the public sector. The strengthening of worker rights in the public service is part of a broad strategy to ensure that all public servants may go about their business free from the fear of discrimination or unfair treatment,” said Dr. Douglas.
He said he is convinced that St. Kitts and Nevis belongs to all of citizens and a major challenge before the Federation in the years ahead is to foster greater unity and to protect all the people from the ravages of political tribalism.
