Fair day’s work for fair day’s pay

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley wants “a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay” from employees of regional corporations. He is concerned that corporations have become employment agencies and he wants that to change.
The PM issued the challenge to the chairman and councillors at the Diego Martin Regional Corporation and by extension other regional corporations when he addressed yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony for members of the corporation located in his Diego Martin West constituency.
On Monday, Local Government and Rural Development Minister Kazim Hosein chastised workers at regional corporations for “wasting taxpayers’ money” with their lack of productivity.
Dr Rowley addressed the issues which have plagued regional corporations for decades, and particularly what the new council will be up against during their tenure. A prime concern for him is the work ethic within the corporations.
“If we are honest with ourselves, we also would have to admit that what the corporations have become are employment agencies for people and in many instances, for people who don’t have intentions of doing any work.”
This echoed Hosein’s sentiments at the swearing-in of Port-of-Spain mayor Joel Martinez on Monday when he said he was fed up of the “very low productivity levels” across all corporations.
Dr Rowley’s statement also comes just one month after San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello admitted to hiring one of his sons at the San Fernando City Corporation. The younger Regrello was reportedly “hardly ever seen” working at the corporation. Yesterday, despite concerns about the employment of his son, Regrello was re-elected mayor of the southern city.