KINGSTOWN, St, Vincent, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says that he’ll convey to Parliament a legislation to enshrine the pension rights of public servants who returned to their jobs after being fired beneath the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“I do know we now have had some variations, and there’s a minority of public servants, a small minority, throughout the time of COVID, a few of us had a distinction,” Gonsalves mentioned throughout a Church Service to mark Public Service Day.
“And a few of you most likely even demonstrated towards me once I went to Parliament, which is your proper. And I’m certain that none of you had something to do with busting my head, so I don’t maintain these issues in my thoughts,” Gonsalves mentioned, referring to the legislation that Cupboard handed in 2021, which resulted in a whole lot of public sector workers shedding their jobs for not taking a COVID-19 jab.
Gonsalves, throughout the assertion marking Public Service Day, defended the choice of the federal government in 2021, saying, “I acted then, and I nonetheless consider that I acted appropriately to save lots of lives and livelihoods.
“This was a pandemic which was introduced upon us by forces exterior and difficult and tough for all of us, and we dealt with it, I consider, higher than most international locations within the Caribbean and on this planet, and we got here out fairly good.”
St. Vincent and the Grenadines was the one Caribbean Neighborhood (CARICOM) nation to impose a vaccine mandate, and it did so whilst its an infection and dying charges had been decrease than these of most different international locations throughout the bloc.
“There are nonetheless some scars. However we should not permit these scars to be perpetually scabrous. As I’ve indicated for a very long time now, these of you who selected to not abide by the requirement of the vaccine, because the Parliament had decided, please, should you’re nonetheless not again at work, come again to work.”
Gonsalves reiterated that public servants who misplaced their jobs beneath the vaccine mandate wouldn’t lose any of the advantages that that they had collected earlier than 2021 in the event that they returned to their posts.
“Certainly, with out having that embedded in legislation, there’s numerous public servants, lecturers, police, public servants who can attest to what I’m saying,” Gonsalves mentioned.
“And I intend to place what we now have been doing in observe in a legislative type, simply in case that, by the hand of God, I’m now not round, that that profit will proceed. I wish to say that to you. Discover I mentioned by the hand of God, not by another hand as a result of I intend to be round for fairly a very long time.”
Vincentians are anticipated to elect a brand new authorities by November, forward of the February 2026 constitutional deadline.
