Public Workers Complain of Victimization, Appointments, Promotions & Salary Increase

Public workers complain of victimization, appointments, promotions and salary increase. This fact was revealed by General Secretary of the Dominica Public Service Union, Thomas Letang, who said several public servants have come to the union office to complain of victimization on account of their political affiliations.

Letang recalled a recent event where Opposition leader Lennex Linton of the UWP warned that many people are being victimized because they choose not to support the current DLP administration.

“That is something I have been seeing all the time – members come to us regularly, and they say to us that they are afraid to even participate in activities called by the union for fear of victimization,” Letang said. “There is victimization and a lot of public officers are fearful of that.”

He said public workers are not the only ones complaining of this situation, that union members complain of the same thing. He said it is the legal rights of anyone to enjoy freedom of speech and association, and that it is everyone’s rights as Dominican citizens to attend rallies and associate with any political parties without external influences.

The secretary-general noted that public officers must be educated on what their rights are under the constitution, and how to uphold those rights anywhere they find themselves. Letang however stated that union members have not only expressed fears about victimization, but that they have also expressed fears about appointments into the public service, promotion, and salary increase.

“We have been told that something is going to be done about it and we are patiently waiting,” Letang stated. “If not we will have to take some more action to get it done.”

He revealed that up to three meetings have been held to negotiate for better salaries for union members without a definite resolution. But more meetings have been scheduled to discuss appointment and promotion and salaries among other challenges confronting the public worker in the next few weeks. But in the meantime, a committee has been organized to review these demands and report back to the union after collecting and analyzing all necessary data.

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