Government workers warned to work or go home

Government workers who shirk their duties but continue to collect money from the Treasury of Antigua and Barbuda are being put on notice that they will be sent home. Molwyn Joseph, the health minister, said that some government workers collect their pay but have not done their fair share of work. “It is astounding to me that the government is paying a team of maintenance individuals at the Clarevue Hospital and simple plumbing problems are not resolved, but the people who are responsible are paid routinely.
I will put my hands on that and those who do not perform will be sent home. Simple. I can’t be more direct,” Joseph said. The minister pointed at the employees who are responsible for the landscaping of the mental facility. He added that despite being fully equipped with lawnmowers and tools to cut the grass, the greenery was not regularly manicured.
On January 10, established and non-established workers began a strike to demand better working conditions, adequate transportation, overtime pay and uniform allowance. The workers are complaining about the perimeter fence, poor sewage management, regular cleaning and landscaping, clothing for the patients, inadequate sinks and bathing soaps for the patients, old and damaged mattresses, waiting room furnishings, and lighting and plumbing, among other issues.
Meanwhile, neglect by family members has forced the government to step in to clothe patients at the Clarevue Psychiatric Hospital.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)