Public Services International - Solidarity with St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Public Service International - Solidarity with St. Vincent & the Grenadines

May 1, 2021 Dear Brothers Boucher and Bailey Happy May Day 2021. As we all celebrate and reflect on this day, we bring greetings and solidarity to our Sisters and Brothers in St Vincent & the Grenadines from the PSI Caribbean family.

We have seen photographs and videos of the disaster. We see the damage and we also share in your heartache. This is a humanitarian disaster and we know that many public workers together with volunteers are working very heard to help ease the pain and frustrations. You are facing and dealing with three crises all at the same – COVID- 19, dengue, and the volcanic eruption. Our Sisters and Brothers throughout the Caribbean have mobilised assistance and aid through their national disaster management agencies.

From various reports we’ve learnt that the eruptions and more recently the heavy rainfall have displaced about twenty thousand people and hat many people are now in shelters, traumatised from their experiences and in many ways unsure of what will happen next. Some of these include your own members. And for those who work in emergency and critical services they still have to provide services to the others who are affected.

The impact and consequences of these multiple events yet once again reinforce the need for quality public services and the fact that the public service plays an important role in sustainable development. There is a saying that we must never let a good crisis go to waste. These back-to-back crises are certainly telling us that we have to boldly demand the changes that are needed to create a better future for the people of St Vincent & the Grenadines and for all countries and territories in the Caribbean. We must have increase public investment in the services that matter to people: well-prepared and resourced emergency and relief services, safe and secure housing, education and training, health and care services, utilities and other infrastructure among others. No matter the country that we talk about, the public sector and public services are what save us, especially when we need them most.

We use this opportunity to laud the various efforts of workers on the frontline as they work tirelessly to help the nation to recover. We are standing with you as you navigate through these hard times. We also have to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

It is through our collective efforts that we will continue to demand increased investment in public services that will build the resilience that we need. We must be and will be bold and vocal in our demands for that increased investment.

Tifonie Powell-Williams (JCSA) and Shamir Brown (JALGO) Co-chairs, Emergencies, Disasters and Climate Change (EDCC) Steering Group

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

As a Country we have weathered many storms and triumphed over adversities and as a public sector we have stood in the breach through them all well before Jamaica became an independent nation. Long before the 6th of May 1919, the forerunners of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) had many challenges to deal with as the world was in crisis then as it is now. There was a Global war and there was also a pandemic. We are fighting a global war and this one is being waged on the economic front and has been exacerbated by the Covid 19 Pandemic just as we were impacted by the 1919 Spanish flu. This all brings to mind the old adage “the more things change the more they remain the same” this was true in 1849, when Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr coined the phrase, and it still rings true today. My Involvement in the JCSA from being an ordinary member right up to being President has been characterized by the Union and its membership going through many changes as we grapple with one crisis or another. Some caused by our own decisions, others we have no control over, but we have held the center and things did not fall apart. The public sector is under attack and public services are undervalued, the lack of investment from 1962 to now is striking. The use of contract employment for established jobs is bordering on inhumane…however we are seeing a change in that paradigm with a renewal of focus on the role and function of public services brought about by how we have responded to our triple threats of Crime, Covid 19 and a weak economy. Public sector transformation, the deepening of the use of technology, the strengthening of the capacity of the public sector through training and education and the rightsizing of the compensation structure of the Public Sector will in the medium to long run yield significant rewards to the country. However, all these changes must be institutionalized, and the public sector be that place of choice to work, where the best and the brightest come to secure their careers.

In this our 102nd year of existence the JCSA has laid the foundation for the future of its members and by extension all public officers. Our persistent and consistent championing of the legitimate interest and concerns of our members will allow us to move them from surviving to thriving. We are well on our way with the involvement in the legislative process in making submissions to the Joint Select Committees examining certain bill, our representation of our members all the way to the UK Privy Council, the Certification of all our delegates in industrial relations, the launch of our fitness and wellness center, the strengthening of our Thrift society to manage the finances of our members, the lobbying for more and better housing solutions for JCSA members, to assist our members to own a car for less than they would pay at the car mart, all this while negotiating with our employer for better benefits to include economic gains. As we were in 1919, we have been persistent, we have been consistent and we are committed now more than ever to move our members from surviving to thriving.

O’Neil W. Grant, MBA