Caribbean News Now!

By Caribbean News Now contributor

CASTRIES, St Lucia -- The opposition United Workers Party (UWP) in Saint Lucia said it is concerned over the apparent veiled threat and subtle intimidation targeted at striking civil servants contained in a press statement issued on Wednesday by the Office of the Prime Minister.

In a press statement that purportedly sought to address the current industrial action by government workers, the UWP said it found it very instructive that a St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) government, which presents itself as being “pro-worker”, would use such tactics to achieve its own ends.

“History will record that one of the very first actions of the current administration in relation to the Labour Code, which it touted as the panacea to workers is to use that same legislation as a tool for intimidating aggrieved government employees. History will also bear evidence that even during the 1979 56-day strike the then UWP government never engaged in intimidation or threatened protesting civil servants,” the UWP said in a statement.

The UWP said it believes that there is still room for dialogue and discussion and that both parties should return to the bargaining table. In this regard the opposition recommends that the Kenny Anthony administration step back from its apparent rigid and inflexible posture and engage the Civil Service Association in the true spirit of negotiations, one reflecting open-mindedness and some degree of sensitivity to the plight of the workers who serve the country.

“We are concerned that the veiled threats by the government at this time can serve no useful purpose, but can only lead to the polarisation of the parties in the dispute,” the UWP said.

The UWP called on all trade unions and workers to condemn this attempt to intimidate civil servants and to break their resolve. This, the UWP said, along with the use of NICE workers as strike-breakers, is part of a concerted effort on the part of the SLP government to undermine the current industrial action by civil servants.

“We call on all civil servants to rally with their union, not to allow themselves to be intimidated by the efforts of the government and to be guided by the provisions of the Labour Code, which grant them the right to protest and protection against discrimination, intimidation and threats,” the UWP concluded.

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