St Kitts – Nevis Labour Party chairperson and Parliamentary Representative for Const.#2 Hon Marcella Liburd has said that the dismantling of the PEP has already started. Liburd said that many of the employees have already been terminated including the CFBC PEP trainees in Hospitality, and that some 83 customs and SCASPA PEP workers have been told they would be terminated by Permanent Secretary Oscar De-Suza in a meeting held with them at the Customs building, Bird Rock last Friday.
Liburd reiterated that at every juncture PEP workers were being marginalized and terminated, thereby adding to further youth unemployment in St. Kitts-Nevis. Liburd revealed that PEP facilitators were being ushered into meetings to either reduce their salaries or close down their PEP programs.
Meanwhile Former sugar workers can expect to receive ‘owed’ severance from the government on September 18, one day before the nation celebrates its 32nd Independence anniversary.
Some EC $16 million is expected to be divvied up among the hundreds of persons who applied for consideration for the Sugar Workers Restoration Fund established by the new government in May.
No details on how the payments will be made and whether everyone would be paid at the same time, has been made thus far.
Deputy chair man of the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, Hon Nigel Carty contends that he has information that only half of the 3000 persons who applied will receive payment.
Senator Carty told Freedom Fm ISSUES via the telephone on Wednesday that the former sugar workers had been adequately paid after the closure of the industry.
In a 2008 interview done by St Kitts Nevis Observer, the then Minister Of Finance and SKNLP Chairman Dr Timothy Harris revealed that all SSMC workers had been adequately compensated and that the PAM were “playing politics” by stating that the sugar workers had not received all the monies to which they were entitled.
Carty further maintained that the Venezuelan government had issued a USD $16 million check to Dr Timothy Harris and wondered what had happened to the balance.