Trade union representative in the Grenada Parliament, Senator Andre Lewis is giving full support to the move by the newly installed Dickon Mitchell-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration to start paying public officers their pension from the end of November.
Congress has often stated its intention to honour the ruling of high court judge, Justice Raulston Glasgow earlier in the year that established public officers are entitled to be paid a pension in keeping with the provisions of the Grenada Constitution.
The Public Workers Union (PWU), through its former President Rachael Roberts took the then ruling New National Party (NNP) regime of defeated Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell to court on the pension issue.
One of the first acts of the new regime of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell was to give instructions to the Ministry of Finance to put mechanisms in place to start putting the pension process in place to start handing out cheques to public officers from November.
Sen. Lewis is now giving support to the move with the introduction of a motion at Tuesday’s sitting of the Upper House of Parliament.
It reads:
WHEREAS Pension and Gratuities are extremely important for workers at the time of retirement entering the twilight of their life;
AND WHEREAS on March 30, 2022, the High Court ruled that the Pension Disqualification Act was unconstitutional and that all state workers who are in pensionable positions are covered under the 1958 Pension Act;
AND WHEREAS the present Government/Administration/State has announced that it would honour the Court’s rulings;
AND WHEREAS the present Government/Administration/State met with the representative Trade Unions and Staff Associations;
AND WHEREAS the present Government/Administration/State committed to honour and pay retroactive pension and gratuity (the 25% gratuity as historically established) to all retired pensionable Public Officers by November 2022 using the pre-independence 1958 Pension Act;
AND WHEREAS the present Government/Administration/State committed to honour and pay pension and gratuity (the 25% gratuity as historically established) to Public Officers who retired, retires and will continue to retire using the pre-independence 1958 Pension Act.
NOW THEREFORE, this Parliamentary Sitting of the Senate hereby resolves as follows:
(1). To identify with and give full support to the decision to restore the pre-independence 1958 Pension Act for Public Officers.
(2). To identify with and give full support to the decision to pay retroactive pension and gratuity (the 25% gratuity as historically established) to all retired pensionable Public Officers by November 2022.
(3). To identify with and give full support to the decision to pay pension and gratuity (the 25% gratuity as historically established) to Public Officers who retired, and will continue to retire.
(4). To identify and support the decision for all pensionable Public Officers to now begin to receive their pension and gratuity (the 25% gratuity as historically established) at their time of retirement from the service.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:
(1). If affirmed this resolution be forwarded by way of message to the House of Representatives.