Sickout by Public Officers on Day of G.O.B./JUNT Meeting?

Dean Flowers

The sick out was not only at the Magistrates Court; our newsroom received reports came from other government departments, including the Treasury Department, which caused services to be temporarily delayed as replacements had to be found for the absentees. When the media caught up with the President of the Public Service Union, Dean Flowers, he said that it was not industrial action being taken by the union. However, he believes that public officers may be suffering from mental health issues caused by the impacts of tough economic times. Here’s how he puts it.

Dean Flowers, President, P.S.U.

“I think the last I heard of a sickout was something that occurred in the immigration department at the airport a couple weeks ago. So I guess it is a fever that is going around. I honestly cannot speak about it. When the Public Service Union makes a bold move of industrial action, we would face the media in similar fashion and make that declaration. We know exactly what the dispute act says which is that we would give government its notice. If it is that there was a mass sickout this morning, it has to do clearly that mental health is affecting public officers and they need to stay home and try to figure out how they will manoeuvre through these tough economic times as well as a public service that is headed by individuals who have no business to be the accounting officers in these ministries because they are not looking after the welfare of the human resource that is under their care. Their primary responsibility is to look after welfare of the public officers and clearly they are not doing that. Instead, they are putting a whole lot of stress on public officers; in addition to the economic strain that they are already under. I believe that may be the reason why we saw a number of public officers not showing up to work today. We are living in difficult times; these are some serious times. Public officers are in a difficult position where their welfare, especially their mental health is concerned and I think that all that’s going on – the talk of the pension reform, the talk of increments, the non-action by government where price gouging, inflation is concerned, I think these are the things that are affecting public officers. I don’t blame them. All of us need a break from time to time to do some praying or some fasting. And I am hoping that most of them that are home today did some praying and fasting for this country because I think it is needed.”