The Turks & Caicos Sun
Civil Servants in the Turks and Caicos Islands went on strike early Thursday morning, in a move that shut down the country’s main gateway, Providenciales International Airport, and forced some schools to close early.
The public workers decided to strike because the Interim Government did not meet a March 18th deadline to respond to their demands for the reinstatement of full salary to all Civil Servants as it was prior to April 2010.
Early Thursday, the Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority issued a press statement saying it suspended operations into and out of its aerodromes due to the absence of adequate coverage from the Royal Turks and Caicos Fire Service.|
“We are working assiduously to resume operations, and apologize for any inconvenience caused,” the release said.
By law, if there is no fire-fighting coverage at the airport, no flights are allowed to land or take-off. Some customs, airport security and immigration employees turned up for work, but they could not function because passengers couldn’t be processed.
The American Airlines morning flight to Miami was grounded, leaving scores of passengers stranded.
Some teachers did not report for work, so parents and guardians had to pick-up their children from school earlier than normal.
The Civil Servants Association (CSA) submitted its list of demands/proposals to the Interim Administration on Friday March 11, 2011.
The CSA noted that in April 2010 the Government had implemented a 10% cut in Civil Servants salary which was supposed to have saved $7 Million and reduce the need to make persons redundant.
According to the CSA, this $7 million saving has been realized and the recent repayment of the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Team (SIPT) expenditure by the British Government to TCIG has made available $7million-plus which should be paid to Civil Servants retroactively for the 10% salary cut.
“The introduction of the new taxation measures will make it difficult for Civil Servants to meet their basic needs without the reinstatement of this 10% salary cut,” the CSA said in a media statement.
The CSA noted that the decision taken by the Interim Administration on the advice of the Customs Tariff Advisor to change the tariff system has resulted in a significant shortfall in government revenue for which Civil Servants are now being asked to pay for with the various reductions in Pension and Payroll.
The CSA is also demanding the immediate payment of Pension to all retired Civil Servants who are so entitled and the calculation of such pension payments as provided for in the Pension Ordinance and Regulations; payment of Gratuity to all retired Civil Servants who are eligible for such if so requested and the calculation of such according to provisions in the Pension Ordinance and Regulations and payment of pension and gratuity to all Civil Servants whose posts were abolished such as persons who were transferred to the New Hospital.
The CSA also rejected the proposal to amend the Pension Ordinance so as to remove the option for Civil Servants to receive up to 25 percent of their pension as gratuity upon retirement from the service or upon abolition of their post and it is requesting that all Civil Servants employed in a pensionable post after April 5, 1992 and who have been confirmed in such post be paid a gratuity upon retirement from the service or on being made redundant as provided for in the Pension Ordinance for persons employed before April 6, 1992.
“We are rejecting the proposal to reduce housing allowance from 5 years to 3 years for persons so eligible.. We are rejecting the proposal to provide transportation allowance based on “official miles” and we request that the existing policy for issuance of this allowance remains. We are requesting that a provision be made so that all persons who were employed after April 5, 1992, if so desire can be employed on a contractual basis, the terms of which should be governed by the Employment Ordinance. Pensioners in receipt of full pension from both NIB and Government should be given at least 3 months notice about the pending change in an effort to minimize hardship and allow sufficient time to rearrange their finances,” the statement added.
The CSA also recommend that the following provisions within the General Orders regarding leave are followed: G.O 8.1.17 makes prevision for all leave accumulated prior to the General Orders coming into force (1998) to be used in the 5 proceeding years and the remainder to be held over until retirement. Also G.O. 8.1.17 speaks to in exceptional circumstances that the Chief Secretary (now PSC) can allow leave above 30 days to be accumulated and hence individuals must retain that right to make representation to the PSC. We further recommend that persons with excess leave are allowed to proceed on it into early retirement, and the value be paid in monthly installments as another option to minimize upfront costs.
The CSA statement continued: ” We support the Acting Appointments for 3 months at a time but propose that the application of salaries for that appointment be standardized to the difference between the persons’ salary and not the issuing of responsibility allowance. We recommend that Acting Allowance should be issued as provided for in the General Orders. We recommend that Professional allowance be clearly defined and how and to whom it will be issued.
Whenever reductions have to be made in staff salary or personal emoluments, persons should be notified in writing as to why the reductions are being made and given an opportunity to respond to such notice in order to provide additional information to support their case as to why the
Civil Servants in the Turks and Caicos Islands went on strike early Thursday morning, in a move that shut down the country’s main gateway, Providenciales International Airport, and forced some schools to close early.
The public workers decided to strike because the Interim Government did not meet a March 18th deadline to respond to their demands for the reinstatement of full salary to all Civil Servants as it was prior to April 2010.
Early Thursday, the Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority issued a press statement saying it suspended operations into and out of its aerodromes due to the absence of adequate coverage from the Royal Turks and Caicos Fire Service.|
“We are working assiduously to resume operations, and apologize for any inconvenience caused,” the release said.
By law, if there is no fire-fighting coverage at the airport, no flights are allowed to land or take-off. Some customs, airport security and immigration employees turned up for work, but they could not function because passengers couldn’t be processed.
The American Airlines morning flight to Miami was grounded, leaving scores of passengers stranded.
Some teachers did not report for work, so parents and guardians had to pick-up their children from school earlier than normal.
The Civil Servants Association (CSA) submitted its list of demands/proposals to the Interim Administration on Friday March 11, 2011.
The CSA noted that in April 2010 the Government had implemented a 10% cut in Civil Servants salary which was supposed to have saved $7 Million and reduce the need to make persons redundant.
According to the CSA, this $7 million saving has been realized and the recent repayment of the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Team (SIPT) expenditure by the British Government to TCIG has made available $7million-plus which should be paid to Civil Servants retroactively for the 10% salary cut.
“The introduction of the new taxation measures will make it difficult for Civil Servants to meet their basic needs without the reinstatement of this 10% salary cut,” the CSA said in a media statement.
The CSA noted that the decision taken by the Interim Administration on the advice of the Customs Tariff Advisor to change the tariff system has resulted in a significant shortfall in government revenue for which Civil Servants are now being asked to pay for with the various reductions in Pension and Payroll.
The CSA is also demanding the immediate payment of Pension to all retired Civil Servants who are so entitled and the calculation of such pension payments as provided for in the Pension Ordinance and Regulations; payment of Gratuity to all retired Civil Servants who are eligible for such if so requested and the calculation of such according to provisions in the Pension Ordinance and Regulations and payment of pension and gratuity to all Civil Servants whose posts were abolished such as persons who were transferred to the New Hospital.
The CSA also rejected the proposal to amend the Pension Ordinance so as to remove the option for Civil Servants to receive up to 25 percent of their pension as gratuity upon retirement from the service or upon abolition of their post and it is requesting that all Civil Servants employed in a pensionable post after April 5, 1992 and who have been confirmed in such post be paid a gratuity upon retirement from the service or on being made redundant as provided for in the Pension Ordinance for persons employed before April 6, 1992.
“We are rejecting the proposal to reduce housing allowance from 5 years to 3 years for persons so eligible.. We are rejecting the proposal to provide transportation allowance based on “official miles” and we request that the existing policy for issuance of this allowance remains. We are requesting that a provision be made so that all persons who were employed after April 5, 1992, if so desire can be employed on a contractual basis, the terms of which should be governed by the Employment Ordinance. Pensioners in receipt of full pension from both NIB and Government should be given at least 3 months notice about the pending change in an effort to minimize hardship and allow sufficient time to rearrange their finances,” the statement added.
The CSA also recommend that the following provisions within the General Orders regarding leave are followed: G.O 8.1.17 makes prevision for all leave accumulated prior to the General Orders coming into force (1998) to be used in the 5 proceeding years and the remainder to be held over until retirement. Also G.O. 8.1.17 speaks to in exceptional circumstances that the Chief Secretary (now PSC) can allow leave above 30 days to be accumulated and hence individuals must retain that right to make representation to the PSC. We further recommend that persons with excess leave are allowed to proceed on it into early retirement, and the value be paid in monthly installments as another option to minimize upfront costs.
The CSA statement continued: ” We support the Acting Appointments for 3 months at a time but propose that the application of salaries for that appointment be standardized to the difference between the persons’ salary and not the issuing of responsibility allowance. We recommend that Acting Allowance should be issued as provided for in the General Orders. We recommend that Professional allowance be clearly defined and how and to whom it will be issued.
Whenever reductions have to be made in staff salary or personal emoluments, persons should be notified in writing as to why the reductions are being made and given an opportunity to respond to such notice in order to provide additional information to support their case as to why the
