Public Officers Absentee List to Be Submitted Daily

Tanya Santos

Now, the Ministry of Human Development, Families and Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs addresses some of the most critical needs of our society, including community rehabilitation, human services and women and family support.  The ministry is staffed with three hundred employees, which include social workers.  And, according to the memo, these measures are being put in place to ensure that those critical services remain available.  But what guarantee is there that these public officers will not be victimized for their absence during strike actions? Here is what C.E.O. Santos told us.

Tanya Santos, C.E.O., Ministry of Human Development, Families and Indigenous People

“God forbid we have an emergency situation; we have a case that goes from bad to worst. We serve among the poorest in our communities, the most vulnerable victims of abuse or women in domestic situations, children in all kind of abuse, the elderly. God forbids that one of these days, while the strike action is in place, we cannot respond adequately because we do not have our social workers present. We need as a government, as a ministry, as a department, that we have the continued service.    We know how the system works, with just by deductive reasoning you can figure who is absent. How can you guarantee one of your officers that they will not be victimized, when their position, section, and reason for absence is sent in.  For instance, there is a community rehabilitation officer. There are several community rehabilitations officers. There are several different of the same position in each department. So how do I know if it is one or the other, if it’s this person or the other. My hands are full all day every day. I do not have the time or the interest to go into those details to find out who is who and who is doing what. What I am interested in is making sure the work done.  I am a very principled person. I started the interview saying I know what is like to be victimized. I have experienced it; I know what it caused in my life. Therefore, I do not wish that on anyone else and I will not go out of my way. Because that is literally going out of your way, to find out who is there and not, there and why it is they are not there, in order to victimize them.”