Solid Waste workers not likely to see pay increase anytime soon
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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Prime Minister, Dr. Hon. Denzil Douglas
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-EMPLOYEES of the Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) are not likely to see the same 7.5 percent pay increase the rest of the civil servant sector recently received, the Prime Minister, Dr. Hon. Denzil Douglas stated via radio earlier this week.
During his weekly radio call-in program “Ask the Prime Minister”, Douglas responded to a caller who asked when and if the SWMC employees would be receiving a pay increase comparable to other civil servants.
“Solid Waste is what we call a public corporation, like the Port Authority and the Frigate Bay Development Corporation, and from time to time these different public corporations would be guided in terms of pay increases by what the government has done.
“Let me say, however, that each of these corporations has an independent board and they are the ones who make the decisions as to whether they would follow suit,” Douglas said.
He went on to say that because the government does not have direct control over public corporations or their boards, they cannot guarantee a pay increase for the workers would be forthcoming.
“We know that SWMC has had challenges in recent times. We know that they have had to organize some more financing to meet their specific daily operation requirements, and so the 7.5% may not be something that they are able to do at this time.”
Douglas reassured the caller, however, that the possibility still existed for government intervention to put an increase in place.
“The government can be requested to look at the situation [at public corporations] and if the Ministry of Finance can assist usually we would prefer that road. I promise I shall look into the matter and we will know exactly what the outcome is in a very short time,” he said. ~~Adz:Right~~
