“We do not mind working, what we mind is coming to work with nothing to do!” These are the apprehensions of employees throughout Trinidad and Tobago, as employers are now unofficially mandating that workers return to work to perform their duties. This morning in phone interviews, employees at the Ministry of Sport and Community Development have indicated that they too are being mandated to work in the office, with nothing to do, as their programs for their division have been canceled entirely by their director.
 
The Best Village Officers reported to the Public Services Association (PSA) that from the onset of the initial lockdown following the Covid-19 pandemic, programs were completely shut down by the Ministry’s director, which leaves the best village officers, with no work to do. The officers stated that working is not their issue, however, being unnecessarily exposed to the virus, is. They added that for some, it was also impossible to navigate working at the office, as they have children that cannot be left without supervision.
 
One source said, “When we have to work in office and schools are not opened, it becomes difficult, we cannot leave our children unsupervised. Some of us are single parents and we are told that we have to take our sick days to compensate for such.”
 
The employees stated that they implored their divisional managers and their director to be mindful and to continue with remote work so that parents in such situations would not be in a position to choose between their jobs and their children. However, they indicated that all requests for mindfulness were neglected.
 
The employees also alerted the PSA to additional concerns, such as rat infestations, air conditioning units that have not been working for two years plus, and lack of equipment and material. This is currently being investigated. If you have any information on such, kindly contact the PSA via messenger or contact: 868-746-7599