EMPLOYEES CONCERNS (PART THREE)

If you follow the thread the following information will be more meaningful.

HOUSING

 The inflationary cost of properties has pushed even farther away the chances of ordinary daily paid workers owning Land and/or Houses.

 This becomes even more difficult as a result of delays in achieving Permanent Status on the job which is an essential Mortgage requirement.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 It is still a matter of concern to Daily-rated workers that Computer loans were offered solely to Monthly-paid Public Officers which indicated evidence of a Class Bias within the Public Sector.

 This they felt was also reflected in the vast amount of Daily- rated officers who now operate Computers within the system and whose knowledge of Computer applications depend on their own pro-activeness with minimal support from Management.

LEGAL SERVICES

 While viewed as a priority given the fact that there were some workers with personal problems that require legal intervention, it was accepted by most that this was a personal responsibility.

 It was felt however that Legal advice could be made available in some cases through the Ministry’s Legal officer.

 The Trade Union received some praise in this direction.

MEDICAL SERVICES/MENTAL/PHYSICAL HEALTH

 The UNIMED Insurance and the Annual Physical Examinations for certain categories of workers as regulated by the Joint Negotiating Committee (J.N.C.) Agreement were thought to be in place.

 Problems of Domestic, substance, and sexual abuse as well as mental and physical illnesses continue to be a problem in spite of a greater awareness of these issues.

The incidence of H.I.V. (AIDS) related deaths has been less visible than in recent years.

MOTOR VEHICLE

 Motor Vehicle loans are not available to the Daily rated employees despite the requirement of travel by certain categories of workers.

 This limits the ownership of new vehicles to the few who can afford.

MODERN HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT AND APPLIANCES

 Available through Higher purchase agreements and loans.
High Apartment rentals and cost of living make the acquisition of these items prohibitory.

NETWORKING

 This was believed to be meaningless as the benefits to be derived from networking among their peers within the workplace were negligible.

 The reason stated was that only Monthly Paid employees were recognized for their Supervisory roles within the Public Sector and able to assist each other if necessary.


To be continued