Business
Barbados: Layoffs in the public sector to be delayed by 18 days
The Freundel Stuart administration in Barbados has extended the date that job cuts and layoffs in the public service would begin by 18 days, following talks with labor unions on Monday.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said the delay would allow the Ministry of the Civil Service to generate a list of positions that would no longer be required, as his administration seeks to reduce the size of government, and in turn public spending in a bid to revive the country’s ailing economy.
According to Stuart, the unions – namely the Barbados Workers Union (BWU) and the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) would be involved in the process.
“We had set the 15th of January for the taking of the first bit of action. That date must now be vacated because of the challenges posed to the Ministry of the Civil Service in even generating the list to be affected,” Stuart said.
“But we are certain now that by the end of this month, we should be able to deal with those issues definitively and finally and of course between now and the end of the month the union will have an opportunity to further report on those issues,” he added.
Last month, the administration announced the plan to cut public service jobs in a bid to save BDS$143 million (US$71.5 million). It said it would also institute a “strict program of attrition” across the central public service, filling posts only where it is absolutely unavoidable, over the next 5 years, ending 2018-2019.
“This attrition is expected to reduce central government employment levels from approximately 16,970 to 14,612 jobs – a projected loss of 2 358 posts; and savings of BDS$121 million (US$60.5 million).
