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by pltm
(PLTM) - Employers who forced their employees to work as hurricane Dorian was approaching, even after the NEOC urged for everyone to be indoors, were described by Premier Hon. Andrew Fahie as callous. In fact, the BVI Leader stated that both himself and the Minister for Labour, Hon. Vincent Wheatley, will be inquiring to find out who these employers are.
The report about the behavior of these unknown employers was made in the House of Assembly on September 2 by Third District Representative and Opposition Member, Hon. Julian Fraser.
In bringing the matter to the House, Hon. Fraser said that some employers showed little regard for their employee's safety and for the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) during the preparation for hurricanes Dorian, as they insisted that their staff stay and work.
Hon. Fraser said, “Long after the Government had announced that the Civil Servants were not to report to work, except for essential workers, and even after there was the talk of a curfew to be issued, in the private sector, employees were being asked to come to work and threatened.”
According to the Third District Representative, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) was informed about the situation and even attempts by NEOC officials to have the employers see reason failed. Hon. Fraser said that the employers responded unfavorably to the NEOC’s intervention into the matter.
As he called on legislators to take action on the matter Hon. Fraser said, “Mr. Speaker I think it’s incumbent on us as legislators to ensure, even before we saw what took place with hurricane Irma, to ensure that we don’t put our citizens at risk. If we knew long in advance that hurricane Dorian was going to pass over the BVI, we knew not what the consequences were going to be. To risk the lives of citizens out there in the morning...You can go to work yes, because it looks ok to go to work, but you don’t know about getting back home. It could be a lamppost, it could be a tree…”
Hon. Fraser added, “Mr. Speaker our legislation on curfew, our legislation on impending disasters has to be clear and concise. I think in my mind, as a former Minister of Labour that was a point at which the Minister of Labour could have intervened or should have intervened and I don’t know, but I am not taking this lightly and I don’t expect any of the 13 of us to do that either, to take it lightly.
In stating that action would be taken, Premier Fahie explained that he did not know about the situation.
“It's people’s lives; you can’t replace a life. When the Territory, the state announce that everyone is to be off the road, everyone is to be off the road, whether it is public, or it is private. It shiver me when I heard you say it, because it’s the first I have heard it. To know that there would be employers who would be so not only callous, but so distasteful…to have their employees out even although the Territory has announced a curfew that everyone should be home.”
As he announced that both himself and the Minister for Labour would be looking into the issue, the Premier said, “I could assure the members of this House that we would look into it. The Minister of Labour has heard you, so he would also work with us so that we could find out who these companies are and not only the companies, but to make sure that we make a statement that is clear. You would think that it would be clear that the state made a declaration that there is a curfew that the curfew covers everybody. I don’t think it should have need us to say public officers and private. It covered everyone so they should have been off the road not some businesses demanding that others be there. Even before the curfew given the conditions people should be more caring for their employees.”
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