Since the beginning of the administration of the People’s United Party, hundreds of open vote workers, many of who have accrued benefits as if they were established workers, have been terminated by the new PUP Government. As a result, the Accountant General, through the Treasury Department, has received hundreds of requests for gratuity and pensions. This has led the Accountant General to seek advice from Government’s legal representatives at the Solicitor General’s Office. They have written to the Accountant General telling them that if an open vote worker is terminated they are not entitled to gratuity or pensions. Since the advice, the Treasury Department has begun to return files with the requests for gratuity and pensions and are not honoring these requests.
In most cases these workers have been terminated without cause. We are advised that fired persons can seek legal redress.
