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Cabinet approves covid19 back pay for public servants
DARREN BAHAW 14 HRS AGO
Public servants and temporary and casual government workers will benefit from unexpected back pay, as the Cabinet approved retroactive pandemic leave on Thursday, mere days before the general election.
An unspecified number of people will benefit, but the decision will likely impose a significant wage bill on the State.
It will pay the full salaries of several groups who could not work for a number of reasons.
These are: workers who contracted covid19, were unable to work because of parental obligations, could not return to work because of closed borders, were sent home by their employer because of flu-like symptoms, were quarantined by a health or state authority, voluntarily decided to self-isolate, were not rostered to work or could not work remotely.
A circular from the acting Chief Personnel Officer, Darryl Dindial, dated August 7, was sent to permanent secretaries, heads of department, the chief administrator of the Tobago House of Assembly, and heads of statutory authorities, which govern regional corporations, among other organisations.
It said the retroactive leave is effective from March 16-June 21 – the period covering the lockdown of public institutions to prevent the possible spread of covid19.
All absences during that period related to covid19 must now be reclassified.
Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus broached the idea of pandemic leave in mid-March, when the first cases of covid19 were detected in TT.
She said then that the new category of leave was being proposed to deal with the absence from duty of a broad spectrum of workers in various state agencies.
Dindial had been working on the proposal to accommodate parents who had no support systems to care for their children, as schools and daycare centres were all closed.
Those workers who would have exhausted all their sick leave would first take extended sick leave before being entitled to apply for pandemic leave.
But a month later, the Prime Minister said in Parliament that the idea of pandemic leave was premature, as public servants and other state employees were ordered to remain home as part of the fight against covid19.
He said, “The concern that generated pandemic leave in its fullness is no longer with us. The matter of whether or not you have some element of it still being considered is there, but there is no pandemic leave as was initially envisaged to take care of any person who may be away from work more than their 14 days’ sick leave.”
Rowley said the government’s decision to allow state employees to stay at home for almost three and a half months superseded any talk of an additional pandemic leave.
With the rapid recent climb in the number of new covid19 cases and the possibility of yet another lockdown after Monday’s general election, Rowley has already broadcast that the first lockdown cost the government billions and there was simply not enough money to do it again.
Sunday Newsday contacted Public Administration Minister Allyson West for clarification on and additional details of the new category of leave, but was referred to the Labour Minister, who like other ministers, was travelling across various parts of the country in motorcades in the final stages of the election campaign.
Messages sent to Public Services Association president Watson Duke, who is contesting the Tobago West seat, were not returned.
Deputy UNC leader and Oropouche East candidate Dr Roodal Moonilal said, “That is nothing more than a transparent election gimmick. It will not and cannot work.
“No one has confidence in this government that they will deliver anything. This is their last stand on the way out.”
What is pandemic leave?
The circular on pandemic leave sent out by the CPO says it is a new category of leave in the public service for employees who are absent from work as a consequence of circumstances associated with the covid19 pandemic.
Cabinet minute no 1390, dated August 6, approved the national policy guidelines on preparing workplaces for covid19, its objective being to minimise the spread by keeping employees safe and well at work.
The CPO told state employers to implement the provisions of the leave in keeping with specific criteria identified in a specific form which provides for approval or non-approval of special sick leave, pandemic leave with full pay.
The categories of workers who would be entitled to such leave include: permanent or temporary public officers; employees of regional corporations; hourly, daily and weekly rated workers; part-time monthly-paid workers, including those who are employed on a seasonal basis; fixed-term contract workers; and short-term contract employees such as OJTs.
Those workers will be eligible to be authorised to have been absent from work between March 16 and June 21, the stay-at-home period.
If any employee in those groups has tested positive for covid19, he or she may be eligible for special sick leave.
“No worker, employee, office holder shall suffer any loss in the calculations of his or her pension, acting allowance, gratuity, or incremental duties payments or any other benefit or leave entitlement based on the classification of leave in accordance with this circular,” it noted.
Department heads were told they must review the list of employees who were absent during the lockdown period, and review and reclassify their reason for being absent in keeping with the provisions of the new category of pandemic leave.
MaxPower wrote:74ef5a81-0cb1-4bda-96d6-d713ed74fa49.jpg
Blasted Trinis again....sickening.
Look at this irresponsibility. This woman need to be charged and example made out of her.
Excessive force should be used when sending her to state quarantine.
Where are the Venezuelans cases?
Remember when i told allyuh.....from wayy before.
The spread will mainly be due to Trinis in breach of SQ.
Look at this mess now, look at what an inconvenience this dotish ass had caused.
Keep it up Trinis....keep it up
redmanjp wrote:MaxPower wrote:74ef5a81-0cb1-4bda-96d6-d713ed74fa49.jpg
Blasted Trinis again....sickening.
Look at this irresponsibility. This woman need to be charged and example made out of her.
Excessive force should be used when sending her to state quarantine.
Where are the Venezuelans cases?
Remember when i told allyuh.....from wayy before.
The spread will mainly be due to Trinis in breach of SQ.
Look at this mess now, look at what an inconvenience this dotish ass had caused.
Keep it up Trinis....keep it up
and it was multiple persons who travvelled to tobago from trinidad while being infected- what about the passengers on the flight?
tobago should block all trinidad residents from flying or coming across the ferry
MaxPower wrote:redmanjp wrote:MaxPower wrote:74ef5a81-0cb1-4bda-96d6-d713ed74fa49.jpg
Blasted Trinis again....sickening.
Look at this irresponsibility. This woman need to be charged and example made out of her.
Excessive force should be used when sending her to state quarantine.
Where are the Venezuelans cases?
Remember when i told allyuh.....from wayy before.
The spread will mainly be due to Trinis in breach of SQ.
Look at this mess now, look at what an inconvenience this dotish ass had caused.
Keep it up Trinis....keep it up
and it was multiple persons who travvelled to tobago from trinidad while being infected- what about the passengers on the flight?
tobago should block all trinidad residents from flying or coming across the ferry
Hello redmanjp,
I agree, BAN Trinis from entering Tobago with their stink unhygienic habits.
In fact, shut down the air bridge.
CMO: covid19 spreading in clusters
JANELLE DE SOUZA 15 HRS AGO
People, many not wearing masks, relax on Brian Lara Promenade, Port of Spain on Saturday. PHOTO BY VIDYA THURAB -
Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram says TT does not fall into the WHO country classification of "community spread." Instead it is in the transmission classification of "cluster."
At the Ministry of Health virtual press conference on Saturday he explained that the WHO (World Health Organization) had four levels of classifications for covid19 – no spread, sporadic, cluster, and community spread.
He said at the moment TT was in the cluster classification, which was “conglomerations of local cases or imported cases coming together in a specific geographic location and/or that are linked to each other.”
He explained that community spread meant “extremely widespread (cases) throughout the entire country, meaning that you can go to any locality in the country and possibly be at the same risk of developing covid.
" That’s not the case at this point.”
Parasram said the ministry continued to make recommendations on covid19 restrictions as needed, but the primary goal was to get people to take personal responsibility for their behaviour by following the public health guidelines.
“We can’t be punitive every time we hear a few cases come up here, there and everywhere, and close everything in society. It has to be measured...but we are trying to create a behaviour change in the population. Without the behaviour change, even if we roll back, there will be cluster and there will be continued spread."
Asked about some businessmen’s concerns over fraudulent calls purportedly from health officials, claiming they had to close their businesses because of a possible covid19 contact, he said if there was some doubt, County Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) offices could be called for confirmation.
There were nine CMOHs in Trinidad and one in Tobago, he said, and they did contact tracing. In most cases this was done by phone but public health inspectors, doctors and nurses sometimes make physical visits.
He added that protocols for contact tracing were very detailed and depended on the level of exposure. For example, primary contacts were those who had more than 15 minutes of exposure to and less than three feet away from a known case, with neither wearing a mask. They were usually asked to home-quarantine.
Secondary contacts had exposure to a primary case. However, once a primary contact was negative, the risk was very low and the secondary contact was often allowed to go about their business, but had to follow health guidelines. They also had to monitor themselves for 14 days and contact a CMOH office if symptoms occurred so they could be swabbed.
Also at the press conference, Dr Saed Rahaman, director, veterinary public health, business continuity during covid19, said many citizens seeking exemptions to return to TT had pets, or animals with which they worked, and applied for the animals as well.
But he said the current quarantine sites did not allow for pets and the Ministry of Agriculture did not have a separate facility for animals.
So, he said, “Currently we have suspended the granting of import permits and licencing for pet and companion animals to accompany these individuals back home.”
“And so, if we could hold that down, as we’re saying, to 100,000 – it’s a horrible number, maybe even less, but to 100,000, so we have between 100 [thousand] and 200,000 – we altogether have done a very good job.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... y-good-job
pugboy wrote:nah gg will make sure and shutdown any after party as per protocols of health ordinances
ST Auto wrote:No new cases. We gt. Shakes wam they boi lolol117129479_10158360420070610_5749222370621586167_o.jpeg
ST Auto wrote:No new cases. We gt. Shakes wam they boi lolol
You're wasting time looking at daily cases in lieu of a rolling seven day average.redmanjp wrote:ST Auto wrote:No new cases. We gt. Shakes wam they boi lolol117129479_10158360420070610_5749222370621586167_o.jpeg
dey batching it again- no way d virus spread reducing just so with everything open up and some ppl not wearing masks
MaxPower wrote:ST Auto wrote:No new cases. We gt. Shakes wam they boi lolol117129479_10158360420070610_5749222370621586167_o.jpeg
Its Sunday too eh.
Remember its Trinis we dealing with.
ST Auto wrote:No new cases. We gt. Shakes wam they boi lolol117129479_10158360420070610_5749222370621586167_o.jpeg
paid_influencer wrote:PM prepares for "COVID election" as NZ marks 100 days of no community spread
shake d livin wake d dead wrote:ST Auto wrote:No new cases. We gt. Shakes wam they boi lolol117129479_10158360420070610_5749222370621586167_o.jpeg
You go back pedal tomorrow
Duane 3NE 2NR wrote:Screenshot 2020-08-09 at 7.46.22 PM.jpg
Screenshot 2020-08-09 at 7.46.36 PM.jpg
redmanjp wrote:shake d livin wake d dead wrote:ST Auto wrote:No new cases. We gt. Shakes wam they boi lolol117129479_10158360420070610_5749222370621586167_o.jpeg
You go back pedal tomorrow
shakes dey batching new positives from today for after d election?
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