On Tuesday we asked the opposition leader John Briceno what he would do with government's bloated wage bill if his party were elected. It's unsustainable, and, this year, with the COVID cash crunch, government has been borrowing to sustain it.
Briceno suggested layoffs of what he called UDP hangers-on.
Yesterday we asked his opponent Patrick Faber the same thing. He said; indeed, it is unsustainable and some public officers will have to find work in the private sector:
Jules Vasquez
"What would be the way forward as regards specifically the wage bill?"
Hon. Patrick Faber - UPD Leader-Elect
"It's going to be very difficult waters ahead and the current path won't be sustainable and great change needs to happen but that change in my view can be managed. If it is we feel as is evidently the case with so many who have assessed the situation that we have too many government workers. Well the way to do that is to try shift some from the public sector to the private sector but that has to be planned and so our efforts to recover after COVID but even now that COVID doesn't seem to be subsiding, there has to be a recovery plan simultaneously that will see job creation and hopefully we'll see some of that transitioning from the public to the private sector if that is determined to be the need when we assess the situation. But you are right, it is a situation who all look at it says, this is not something that we can sustain and I would be disingenuous to you if I say anything like that we can continue to go down this path irresponsibly."
Jules Vasquez
"Should public officers expect their annual increment next year?"
Hon. Patrick Faber
"Well that to me is something to be determined, it all depends. What is guaranteed now, which is the full salary can be maintained at least for the short term until we can get to an understanding, then I don't see why some further acceptance on the part of public servants and teachers to continue to make the sacrifice for the sake of the nation that would be so difficult."
