Public Works Minister, Ian Pinard, has promised that employees at the Public Works Corporation (PWC) will soon receive outstanding payments from government.
According to Pinard, who was a guest on state-owned DBS Radio’s Talking Point Programme on Thursday, payments are expected, “either today or tomorrow.”
For two days in a row frustrated workers at the PWC locked the gate of the Corporation’s premises as they staged a ‘peaceful protest’ demanding late payments of four fortnights.
They say protest will continue until a government minister addresses their concerns.
But Pinard said the workers will get paid.
“We are working on it to make sure that they receive an outstanding payment from us of over $300,000, they should be receiving very soon, in a couple of days,” he stated.
He noted that the monies are owed by the government to the Corporation for work done over the past couple of weeks.
“We are making payments to them. The Corporation will get those payments,” he promised.
Pinard stated further that the PWC cannot continue in its present state, pointing out that its expenses are sky high.
“We know that the salary, monthly wage of the Corporation is way too high, so basically every month is a problem to pay staff,” he explained. “We have salaries close to $200,000 every month…and that is way too high.”
In fact, Pinard noted, revenue generated by the PWC cannot sustain salaries.
“You have other bills that you have to pay, utilities and other administrative cost, so the expense of the Corporation is way too high and that is why what came up is a sustainable plan for the Corporation, which include restructuring,” he noted.
He said ways are being explored to improve the PWC.
“Over the past years this government has been working and trying to see what we can do and we realize that the only way we can do it is, to do an overhaul which means doing restructuring, looking at finances, looking at the equipment and everything surrounding the Corporation,” he explained.
However, he said, restructuring of the PWC is not going to happen quickly.
“It is going to take a little time, but I am hoping in the next couple of weeks that we will finalize it and put it together,” Pinard said.
He went on to compare the Corporation with a pair of pants with holes in it.
“You put money in it, it is going to fall all the time,” he said. “So it keeps leaking and at the end of the day when you have a Corporation that is not sustainable, you are going to have difficulty…”
He revealed that 90 percent of the Corporation’s income is generated from the government in terms of projects, road maintenance and the like.
“So we continue to make sure that we give the Corporation work to make it sustainable, but because of the large number of employees that they have, the large expenses that they have, it is difficult to sustain based on the projects that they get from the government,” he said.
Pinard is hoping that the matter will be resolved later on Thursday.
“The board is meeting with the union today at 2:30 pm and hopefully we can resolve this matter,” he stated.
How much more screwed can the Commonwealth of DA get? can someone answer? The New Colonialists are already here. Infiltrating putting locals out of business places they once occupied renting from the Latifundists.Yrs ago a gentle was asked to apologise to the hinese who prevented him first from turning to go to his home then had the gull to go to the man ‘s home (by this mahaut cop turn minister in Medard’s group of crooks called the gov’t of DA)
MOU have a hold on we LMAO out but this is now laughing matter.
Commisioner of police, is that O Henry on the van? The guys are only hungry for their salaries. Only then they can buy O Henry.
Insufficient revenue versus too much staff and vice versa. This is not good for the business. Receivable must outweigh payable. It appears that you will have to cut staff. I hope you can find a solution to this without laying off too much staff. For the moment, ensure that those who have not yet been paid for six weeks are paid. How many people could go without income for even two weeks much more for six?
How much did the foreign business, Range Development pay for the 15 acres of land from our Cabrits National Park? Was the 15 acres given free? Dominicans do not know.
On top of that, Gov’t gave the same foreign “investor” our passports to sell to make money to build his hotel on land taken from our National Park.
But Gov’t has problems to pay the local PWC workers money owed to them., The PWC workers were not engaged in illegal activities, but worked honestly, worked hard to earn their money. Yet they catching hell.
Those selling passports never go through those headaches.
Big, big Gov’t. Ministers like peas. Advisers a plenty. Even those DLP candidates who lost the elections recently, were placed in positions with hefty pay. Hearts of stone? A few have licenses to sell passports, millions are being amassed. But the PWC workers are continually going through hell re. payments for work done.
PWC going, going, gone, to be replaced by the…
I am not getting this: Salary is over 200,000 a month. They were not paid for 4 fortnights, yet he is only paying 300,000?
Is this international news police babies standing at the back of a pick up truck how many years back are you
Does anyone expect Pinard to favor protest? His party is in power and protest action is always a sign that people are not happy with the dealings of their company or government, so I don’t expect him to be in favor of protest. He should have told Skerrit that they should take care of the people and that would have avoided protest action. Do I believe the timing of both the Salsbury protest and Public works protest was good. Hell no! The way Dominica is today, where Skerrit feels he can do whatever he wants and if we decide to stage a peaceful protest he will just send armed officers to scare us, it would have been much better if both farmers, teachers, PW workers and all others had planned to have a massive protest when they know we have a warship from either the USA, Canada or Britain. That’s the only time we will not be intemidated. Last month April 16 would have been a good time because the British warship was here and I bet Skerrit would not send police to intimidate us.
DNO, I really don’t see what about my blog that violates or infringes the rights of any person, are defamatory or harassing or include personal attacks are abusive, profane or offensive. It’s like people just cannot say a thing in Dominica. My point is, if we protest when warships from democratic governments are present, they will serve as protection for the people and we will not be intimidated by police as was the case in Salsbury. What’s wrong with this DNO? That offends you? Sorry, that’s because of my name
This is the most confusing explanation I have ever seen. First of all, how is public works a revenue generating entity, when it is or was a department of the government responsible for infrastructure development and maintenance. This is a cost government has to budget for. Mr. Pinard also goes on to say public works revenue generation comes from the government. If something is not wrong to you guys with this then we are lost. Governments are historically inefficient in management and very good at waste. If government complaining about all these expenses how are they going to manage and maintain hotels, abattoirs, etc when markets fluctuate. This is the reason why government do not get into business. They are bad at it due to conflicting interests. Recently the highest bidder was awarded work. I do not get it. Can’t you people see there are a too many clowns running this place. It is a bloody circus.
Such a small entity with very little work yet the government find it so difficult to manage.
De government responsible for giving it work.
Work is few and far between.
This is not the first time de workers protesting for salaries owed for at least 2 months.
Same management. Same board of directors.
No movement……talk talk talk talk talk!!
I don’t expect you to do any more than Blackmoore never did!
Your ministry always knew that you owe salaries to the workers.
De guys protest…..then you announce that the money will be made available within a couple days!
Wow!
One time like that!
So quick!
Where was de money sitting all this time?
You can authorize $300 000 in a couple days?
What took you so long?
You know of all de issues and all u talk of is ‘we restructuring’ …..what a joke!!!!
The government need to stop outsourcing projects to private entities and friends. Have PWC do the work
the nightmare situation at pwc was created by this regime and now it is haunting them, also there are some creepy who works at the pwc and are hurting so badly and yet they are saying until death do us part when it comes to their labor party.
who in Dominica that cannot see that the jobs go out to chinese
Democracy for you, the means by which those who adore authority and crave the security of servitude can use their superior numbers to enslave those who wish to be free.
Take note …
1. “… Salary, monthly wage of the Corporation is way too high, so basically every month is a problem to pay staff,”
2. 90% of the Corporation’s income is generated from the government in terms of projects, road maintenance
3. but because of the large number of employees that they have ….
4. … difficult to sustain based on the projects that they get from the government,
5. he said, restructuring of the PWC is not going to happen quickly
6. “The board is meeting with the union today at 2:30 pm and hopefully we can resolve this matter,”
7. Restructuring equals to…..
Get reid of the board put PWD under the Dept of C&Ws Like it was b4 all these jokers turn DLP The salaries to the board members way exceeds the workers. Lol no UWP but employees at PWD.
…..on another Note, Dominicans need to wake up..We depend too much on Gov’t to solve our problems..Go on ECCB website and see how much money in the Bank Reserves..yet everybody want to wake up dress sweet, put tie, put make up and go in AC..Gasson Dominica is a poor country at a very early stage of economic development..just one generation ago we had massive school feeding programs and Malnutrition..and flouride mouthwash in public schools..I can still taste it… Gov’t should get young people out to work to build the country..so many Masters and Doctorates upstairs counting minutes to collect their monthly pay..’cause they not involved in real productive work..Can we imagine where Dominica would be if Sukie, Egbert Charles, Astaphans etc..didn’t take on the private sector?..That is the Key..get our educated people out to work and take risk with our pool of money..reduce dem damn ridiculous rates of interests..get our production for exports up and out…blanket VAT is a problem…
for two days in a row frustrated workers at the PWC locked the gate of the Corporation’s premises as they staged a ‘peaceful protest’ demanding late payments of four fortnights + He noted that the monies are owed by the government to the Corporation for work done over the past couple of weeks = ???
The Problem with PWC is simple (more expenses than revenue) but was generated by a complicated mele of Makakwi..they sidelined public works by setting up their very own private interests with shady corporations and purchase of personal heavy equipment and the likes..then they share the jobs accordingly..they even attempted to blame it on the EU procurement process stating that the biddings must be fair etc…well ain’t that why PW is now a Corporation?; statutory body. No way fellas out there should beat Public Works on bids all the time ’cause PWC had been existing long enough to experience economies of scale to lower costs by now..while it may be true that the PWC staff should be cut. Gov’t Should take their fair share blame.. Corruption does always come back to bite like Karma..Pay dem ppl and cut staff..stop mixing words like toddlers..Like it or not this problem will NOT be solved…Government grappling for money every end of month..word to the wise..
When I was growing up in Grenal I once beat up on a midget.
It began like this: there was a bully who had a little click.They would beat up on me bc I was not there buddy. So I deceided I could beat the midget who limed with them. So, everytime they beat up on me I would whoop their midget buddy’s butt. Guess what they called a truse.
stop begging skerritt and singing for your supper. Have the courage to take some risk to do something.
Good apply ur concept/idead to Medard et Al stop being international panhandlers . Create wealth ,employment with our resources.
John Q Capish?
When I was growing up in Grenal I once beat up on a midget.
It began like this: there was a bully who had a little click.They would beat up on me bc I was not there buddy. So I deceided I could beat the midget who limed with them. So, everytime they beat up on me I would whoop their midget buddy’s butt. Guess what they called a truse.
stop begging skerritt and singing for your supper.
@ Hon. Ian Pinard:
Sir, I must respectfully inform you of a simple, basic Accounting principle: Revenue must be more than Expenses. Any business place or Corporation that does not understand this basic rule is in problems.
Now, having said that, I am sure that you’re fully aware that PWC has been hurting for jobs in the last 10 years since this administration decided to throw its lot in with the Chinese. The Chinese are picking up all of the jobs PWC would have normally undertaken.
Don’t pretend as if you don’t know what the problem is.
Prick the bobo and let the pus out.
When the masses and the gros boug can no long live under the corrupt rulers there will be revolution
Ask the president to give us a lecture at UWI Center on the 28 or 29th of May.
Allow him to tell us of the subjective and objective conditions which led to the over throw of PJ. Then we will ask him not Mamo how are the conditions today. Better or not and the posibility of an upheaval or not and if the latter why?
So is he saying that they need to cut down on staff in order to properly sustain the PWC? That’s unfortunate.
Good Mr Pinard and is not leak it leaking PWC is a bottomless pit for money it has no end make every body reduntant and start back fresh
What about the Gov’t? They should be made redundant b4 PWD employees what do you think? Just my humble opinion Yow Landa! A bunch of jokes johny comelatelies who making “Instru”sound eloquent.
Remember Instru? a jay wind blow and a parche fig fall down.”- Instru 1995 as a minister of Gov’t before becoming a fugitive post 2000.
Think of it Yow! Landa. You don’t fig with internation legalization of weed the treasury could be booming with it’s addition to passport sales only if instead of the gov’t agents selling passport for 100K/family now it going up to $250k /passport citizen could sell both? lol What a place Da would be.
Gov’t of all for all by all if the Neo -DLP ites the invaders would only allow it lolLMAO.
Just like the cabinet has 18 ministers in a broke country
really yolande??? I would make you redundant FIRST!!!! you are in solidarity with no one but yourself………listen to a GROWN MAN….a man I could call my father……so Mr. Jno Jules…. this is who you are????? no wonder the corporation makes no progress….It’s termites like you who make these politicians think that this country is their estate…
so you land…..are you aware the current PILAGING of the tarish quarry, free tarish here there and everywhere……….isn’t the tarish quarry an ASSET of the public works?? to be MANAGED by the public works corporation according to the enactment it was formed under… you land….as of now you have in effect given me the mandate to now come and (breath fire up your lower end) speak truth to POWER…
this has been a sore for too long, its time the people know the TRUTH about this nonsense going on at pwc
. When you were working at public works as time keeper for grass cutters under Eugenia Charles governmengt would you have liked them to cut your job. You reported late cause you were carrying Viellecase school children on your van and all day long you did nothing other than stand up under the mango tree in the Portsmouth Public Works yard or on the Balcony talking nonsense. Today Public Works is a bottomless pit because Skerrit put your lazy A&&& in possition that you are not even qualified for. But when Karma comes it will coe for people like you first you SOB.
These guys are complete jokers. You are effectively saying you have a failing corporation, you know it is failing, it is not bringing in enough income but you can’t simply make the hard decision to either find more private jobs or reduce staff until you can? This is government waste at its best! Dominica’s economy has failed but this gov’t is trying to keep the smoke screen up as long as possible!
Coincidence or an obvious Phenomenon? We are in May 2015. 36 yrs post our historic coup which allowed the well prepared Latifundists/by-products of imperialists to easily take over economically & politically. Who were in the frontlines? Where were the Neo DLP-ites who after crumbling in 1995 ousted by a bunch of jokers giving Rosie the opportunity to take over only to be ruined by bringing these opportunist into a collision. The consequences of the hypocritical left cadres who allowed shouldering of the Neo -DLPites who were DFP pillars who became outcasts.they have effectively morphed into DLP not the authentic DLP and see what they have transformed a once proud people to(beggers) See who is President ! See what we have as P.M a handicap verbally. who should be President of the disabled rather than P.M of our nation( No disrespect meant to the disabled).
Back in the day the revolutionary days could this incompetent( kid who fell thru the cracks) due to opportunists seek wealth be…