Dear Editor,
I am writing because I do not know where else to turn. According to Antigua News Room, a government employee has come forward with serious concerns about transparency and workers' rights within the public service.
I began working with the government in 2018, straight out of secondary school. When I accepted the position, I believed it was standard government employment. Now I am being told that because I receive a duty allowance, I am classified as a special worker. According to my supervisors, this means they can call me in at any time — including public holidays, for extended periods, and for any task they see fit. They also insist that the Collective Bargaining Agreement entitles me to nothing beyond my salary and duty allowance.
The problem is that I have never seen this agreement for myself.
I approached the union. They did not provide it. I contacted the ministry. They directed me to the Government Printery. The Printery told me they do not have it. How is a worker supposed to know their rights if no one can produce the very agreement that governs their employment?
I am not refusing to work. I work hard. But workers deserve to know what they signed up for and what the rules actually say. Introducing new conditions without transparency is unacceptable. If the agreement grants the government these powers, then workers must be allowed to read it too.
At present, I cannot earn enough to build a proper home. I have little personal time because I can be called out to work at any moment. Building a family or maintaining a normal life feels impossible. It seems that those at the bottom are always made to carry the heaviest burden, while no one listens.
I am appealing to anyone who holds a copy of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for non-established government workers from this decade to please make it available. Workers should not have to beg to see the agreement that directly governs their livelihoods.
I hope someone hears this, and that something changes.
Concerned Government Worker
