Prime Minister Supports Winding Up of Public Sector Workers Trust

Prime Minister John Briceño

Prime Minister Briceño also answered questions related to the Public Sector Workers Trust. For context, the trust was established under former Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel. After his administration imposed a wage and increment freeze on the public sector from 1995 to 1997, former P.M. Esquivel gave public sector workers four hundred and fifty thousand shares in B.T.L. Almost two decades later, those shares have matured with dividends of just about eight million dollars. These funds are being managed by the Public Sector Workers Trust. For some time, the beneficiaries of that trust have been clamouring to have those funds handed over to them. Well, Prime Minister Briceño says that in principle, he would support the winding up of the trust. Here is how he puts it.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“One of the ideas presented which I would want to support is to wind it up and to all of the people, because it is not everybody that would benefit. It would be the people who worked from 1995 to 1997. So I believe it is best we just wind it down, sell of the shares, assets, take the money and just share it among the beneficiaries, because if we have somebody managing, a group managing, then they are spending the money and the real beneficiaries are not getting the necessary benefits they should be getting. How many people are going to benefit? How many people could borrow? They say they will borrow and they don’t pay. They say they will give out food and they give out much more. I think it has been there for so long, some of the beneficiaries has already died and passed away. I would have to get legal advice from the Attorney General, but maybe it is time to seriously consider winding it up and let the beneficiaries get what they deserve.”