More Talks On Ailing St. Lucia Economy

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, May 5, CMC – Government and trade union officials will meet again on Friday following their weekend talks that Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony said was intended to identify the options available to the his administration to revive an ailing economy.

“This represents a first step in a process to arrive at consensus on the best way forward,” Anthony said Monday.

Anthony met with the public sector unions to offer proposals on how recurrent expenditure could be reduced. He told them that if consensus is reached, then the government would be willing to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with them.

He also indicated that the government is willing to establish a committee to monitor the implementation of agreed measures.

“I reassured the union representatives that it is not the intention of the government to deal with the situation by retrenching workers as alleged in some quarters.

“However, the government would need to act to prevent any further deterioration on the gains made in reducing the fiscal deficit,” he added.

But the meeting was boycotted by the largest public sector trade union, the Civil Service Association (CSA), which has already signaled it will not accept a five per cent cut in salary and wages for its members.