By Sue-Ann Wayow
EMPLOYEES of the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) under the age of 60 will now be given three–year contracts instead of short-term contracts.
This was one of the announcements made by Tobago House of Assembly (THA)’s Chief Secretary Farley Augustine on Sunday following a five-day THA executive council retreat.
Measures were being put in place to ensure that persons leading in the fight against Covid-19 were financially sustained ruling out three months and one-year contracts for starters he said.
Speaking at a media conference, Augustine said, “We are starting with those people who have been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19. Based on assessment, we have 133 employees whose status are viewed as temporary, it could be Covid-19 temporary or just temporary. For these 133 workers, once you are under the age of 60, you would automatically be offered a three-year contract immediately.”
He continued, “So those workers within the TRHA that are being viewed as temporary, you have a little more stability in terms of your employment status. And we are doing that because we recognise that there is a need to fix the establishment and it would take Assistant Secretary (Certica) Williams-Orr a bit longer to go through the establishment with the relevant public service boards.”
Referring to the over 60 age group, Augustine said such persons will be dealt with on an individual basis and can be further assessed if age 60 and over.
Although the employment terms and conditions may change for TRHA employees, the Chief Secretary said that changes will take place for the other divisions of the THA and various assessments were presently ongoing.
