CONTRACT workers continued their demonstrations outside the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday for the third consecutive week to protest outstanding pay concerns.
The group said workers will not stop demanding to speak with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis until their issues are addressed.
“We are going to be here until we’re satisfied about where our monies are. Whether we get a letter, whether we get a meeting, if we get a statement. Whatever gone cause us to be satisfied as a group,” said protest organiser Richard Johnson.
The group, which largely consists of contract workers from the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority, claim they are owed payments from July 2021.
The angry workers said they are also prepared to take legal action if needed, according to Mr Johnson.
“I spoke to a senior lawyer last night and we are prepared to meet with her this week on the way forward. She said that we have a strong case and that she is willing to entertain us with this whole ordeal,” Mr Johnson told reporters yesterday.
“We have thousands of dollars. I don’t think it’s as much as those persons who got settled in those lawsuits, but we have thousands of dollars owed to us. I don’t know the exact figure, but I know that thousands are owed to us.”
When asked yesterday if the group met with the authority’s executive chairman to have their concerns resolved, he replied: “Absolutely not. That guy does not speak to anybody. He’s very rude. He’s very condescending and so the reason why we’re here is because we’re finished with over there. We can’t get no resolve.”
OPM communications director, Latrae Rahming, told reporters last week that the government will find a solution to providing the aggrieved workers with the money that is owed to them.
He said: “From the government’s perspective, we are going to endeavour to find a solution to this issue, to bring it to some kind of resolution. I cannot say personally what some of the challenges might be, that are impacting it, but I do believe that we can deal with these things in a very civil way.”
Click here to read more at The Tribune
