One per cent of what?

AH DOH BELIEVE dat de Prime Minister realize dat de One Percent Razor-pay dat he giving Public Servants, got lickle no value except yuh talking thousands pon thousands. Change at de cashiers in de Supermarkets starts at five cents, dey’s no more one cent or penny.

So if yuh happen to be ah Public Servant and ah Vagrant confronts yuh as dey always do, remember he done hear dat yuh got ah Salary Increase of One Per cent wid Back-Pay from June last year. If yuh accustom to give him ah dollar, he too is entitled to his One Percent increase, which incidentally is One Cent, even ah Vagrant will refuse yuh One Per cent.

On de other hand if yuh are ah Police, Teacher or Junior Clerk and yuh getting ah fifteen hundred dollars ah month, den yuh One Per cent salary increase is fifteen dollars ah month, so yuh could surprise yuh family endah- month, and move up from Back’n’Neck and buy ah pound ah beef. Beef is $7.50 ah pound, so doh tell yuh self yuh got money, go play bright and tek up two pounds, right dey yuh $15.00 Razor-pay done!

Yuh in de same boat as yuh Vagrant friend.

Seventeen years ago, Public Servants demanded ah Thirty Per cent (30%) increase; Eustace was den Prime Minister, he was add-ah-mint and blasted dem saying “Not ah cent more dan Twelve Per cent (12%)!” Dey were Energized as de Awe-position on Public Servants salary.

leader, now Prime Minister was in dey corner way de were pushing foh dey Thirty Per cent increase.

He never rebuked dem, up to today dey insisting dat he did promise dem de Thirty Per cent (30%).

President Fitz Jones of de Teachers Union performed like ah Field Marshall, he gathered forces wid de other Trade Unions and de rest is His-story! ULP took office, dey was no more talk about ah Thirty Percent increase foh Public Servants, instead dey was an immediate Freeze on Public Servants salary. Fitz Jones was rewarded wid one ah dem PSU promote- shun though. Today after seventeen years of ULP Admisitray-shun, Thirty-Percent Increase is like ah Dutty-Wud, it took a suicide dive to One Per cent. Is who did say seven more dan ten? Prime Minister Gone-Soft got to be joking to even think of ah figure like One Per cent salary increase! Lie-Za say de only figure dat kept de PM from going lower dan One Per cent, is because de Zero Hunger Calm Pain tek all dat got to offer! She say dat it would be funny, if school children were to Big-up de PM ‘s On-to-Rage when he passing dem and shout out: “One Per cent!”

Lie-Za fume-ing wid her party. She saying dat any serious Awe-Posit- shun dat is hoping to tek Go-venom-mint and cannot promise Public Servants an increase ah salary dat is better dan One Per cent, ain’t ready to tek office. She says dat Fri-day and his team should ah bin already in de corner of de Public Servants, Teachers and Police, doing exactly what de den Awe-Posit-shun did in 2001, promising ah Thirty Per cent increase.

And den she watching me wid ah crooked face and say: “What goes around, comes right back round to meet yuh!”

Last week ah went all out to Big-Up Justice Esco Henry, foh delivering ah Judgment, dat will inspire Public Servants who getting victim-eyes and overlooked by the Public Service Commission, to fight dey Case in de High Court. Inadvertently, yes ah didn’t focus me mind on Barrister-at-Law, Joseph “Joe” Delves, de man who literally delved into the PSC, did all de research, gathered de facts, represented/ presented and won de Public Servants Case. It was a resounding, massive victory case foh Joe Delves dat deserves to be placed among de OECS list of Case studies. So to Joe, I humbly apologize foh not even men-shunning yuh name in my article last week. Tek full marks as de legal counsel who provided de arsenal so de PSU could get Just-taste. And wid dat is gone ah gone again. One Love Bassy

● Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.