NOTICE OF PARTICIPATION IN INDUSTRIAL ACTION. The Secretary General of PSA, Mele Amanaki, submitted yesterday, Friday 26 September 2014, to all the CEOs in 7 Ministries in the Government of Tonga over 650 signatures from public servants who have confirmed their support to participate in the industrial action organized by the PSA. This included 500 employees from the Ministry of Heath, 77 from MAFFF, 37 from Customs & Revenue, 30 from Lands & Survey, 8 from Commerce, Tourism & Labour, 4 from Finance & National Planning, 1 from Infrastructure. The letter from the Ministry of Education will be submitted next Friday given the school holidays this week but so far over 50 employees from Education have signed their letter in the PSA Office. With signatures from Education, we will have more than 50% of the public servants supporting the industrial action. This of course does not include those employees who are supportive but afraid to sign up. The proposed industrial action (peaceful strike) is over many issues including the unfair & unjust Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) grant to employees in Government ESPECIALLY THE 75% IN THE LOWER LEVELS (levels 10-14) in the Public Service, refusal by Govt to follow the Public Service (Grievances & Dispute Procedures) Regulations in the past 9 months to dialogue with PSA on behalf of our members on the COLA; attempt by Government to wind up PSA claiming that we do not have members, $10,000 claims by the Prime Minister & Minister of Justice each from us for defamation when we proposed to them how to finance the COLA (this will be resolved in Court), ongoing unlawful employment of the Acting Chief Secretary & Secretary to Cabinet, and other decisions made by the Prime Minister on how the public funds were used which PSA has taken to Court to be dealt with there ...... The count down of the 15 days stipulated Section 21 of the Public Service (Grievances & Dispute Procedures) Regulations for the industrial action starts today. PSA and its members are still open for negotiation. We are grateful for the initiative made by the Acting Prime Minister, Samiu Vaipulu, to call a meeting with the Secretary General on Thursday afternoon after receiving a letter on our concerns on the resignation of the 3 Public Service Commissioners & CEO of PSC and the continued unlawful employment of the Acting Chief Secretary & Secretary to Cabinet. This letter also informed the PM of the intention to submit our Notice on the Participation in the Industrial Action on Friday. The meeting ended with mutual agreement by the two parties that both parties will discuss a way forward within the next 10 days to resolve our issues to AVOID A STRIKE. Preliminary discussion started in this meeting in which there is most likely that a mutual agreement will be reached within the next 10 days. This meeting is the first initiative in the last 9 months for Govt to try and listen to the grievances of their employees. If there will be a strike if a mutual agreement is not reached, PSA (1) does not intend to include their members in the Ministry of Education in the strike because of the upcoming exams... (2) only half of their members in the Ministry of Health will join the strike after 3 days of the strike if nothing will still not be resolved and the rest after 5 days. Some CEOs and Ministers in the smaller Ministries have threatened their employees that they will be dismissed if they signed the Notice. We have requested to the Acting Prime Minister to advise these CEOs and Ministers to stop threatening the employees as what we are doing is in compliance with the Regulations and that we want to resolve this problem in the most peaceful manner. This is why we had tried to walk the steps prescribed in the Regulations in the past 9 months. In addition, the PM, Ministers and/or CEOs do not have the power or right to dismiss anyone from the Public Service except themselves. But to dismiss 50% of the public servants would be more detrimental to the country that the 6-10% the employees are seeking for. TO THE EMPLOYEES who still have not sign the letter, or those who have been intimidated by their CEO or Minister if you have gain enough courage to support improving your salary for the sake of your family, come to our PSA office and sign our letter. The second batch of letters will be submitted next Friday 03rd October together with the letter of our members in the Ministry of Education. A BIG MALO goes out to our Deputy & Senior Officers who have STOOD UP for the sake of the employees in the lower levels, to whom our efforts are especially for them. We salute to you all and especially those in the Ministry of Health, Customs & MAFFF (Quarantine) and those in all the other Ministries whom without fear sign our Notice although there is just few of you or ONLY you. NOTE that our aim now is to AND AVOID A STRIKE ACTION! In Tonga we do things peacefully ............. IN UNITY & SOLIDARITY
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:28:16 +0000