PSA PRESS RELEASE No. 18/14 17th October 2014 MINISTER OF JUSTICE CONFIRMED THEY WILL ACTIVATE EMERGENCY POWERS TO STOP THE STRIKE! The Minister of Justice, Mr. Clive Edwards, confirmed to radio 89.5FM news today that Cabinet will activate the Emergency Powers! Cabinet will now resort to use guns to prevent the public servants from exercising their Constitutional Rights. This is a move of a Dictatorship Leader to suppress the people from what the Constitution allow them to do peacefully. The Constitution allows the people of Tonga to withhold their services if they want to for any reason they want, and this include the public servants in Tonga. In addition, the Public Service Act & Regulations allow the public servants to go on strike after giving their CEOs written notice of no less than 15 working days to participate in an industrial action. The 15 In an interview with radio 89.5FM news this morning, the Minister of Justice confirmed that Cabinet will activate the Emergency Powers if the public servants will go ahead next week on Monday 20 October 2014. The Cabinet Ministers have used all different kind of threats to weaken the peaceful strike action of the public servants. The PSA call this latest move as an action of a Dictatorship Leader, i.e. to resolve to guns and the PSA is concerned that Tonga may become another coup island in the Pacific Region in the future. The Cabinet has sorts of threats since January this year to make sure that the due and fair Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for the public servant is not granted. The prices of consumer goods have risen by 40% since the last COLA in 2005. Most governments in the world make the COLA adjustment annually to ensure the welfare of their employees and their families. This also ensures that the COLA is affordable and the service of Government to the people will not be jeopardized by any industrial action by the public servants. Gov’t has refused to use the procedures prescribed in the Public Service (Grievances & Dispute Procedures) Regulations; they have threatened to close down the PSA, the Prime Minister & Minister of Justice have sued the PSA & Secretary General for defamation claiming $10,000 each; they told the public that the PSA is now a political organization; and the latest this morning - to USE GUNS to stop the peaceful strike action by activating the Emergency Powers! For more information, please do not hesitate to contact the PSA Secretary General
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 22:37:53 +0000
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