The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

SOCIAL Services and Urban Development Minister Obediah Wilchcombe said his ministry is restructuring staffing at Urban Renewal in the wake of complaints about mass layoffs in the department.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a forum yesterday, he addressed the issue of layoffs at Urban Renewal and clarified that these former employees were only let go after their contracts had ended.

He said those employees whose contracts ended had the opportunity to reapply for their jobs.

 The Free National Movement had raised concern about the layoffs recently.

 “What has happened is many of the former employees’ contracts ended, in fact ended early 2021 and many were working without contracts. And so, what we decided to do was allow all to end employment and reapply if they so wish. But it also allows us to put in place our paradigm which requires new plans, new thoughts, new ideas and, of course, new people,” Mr Wilchcombe said.

He said officials sought to address issues within the department where people were working at Urban Renewal without a contract and that many employees operated under uncertain status.

 “The reality is many were in the system and in fact we’ve had some very unusual circumstances as well where we’ve had individuals without contracts who’ve been working, and so we’ve had to bring to some level of normalcy,” he said. “The public service over the many years, not just now, but for many years, has seen the population of individuals who are in the service with their status uncertain and we don’t want that to continue. So, we are trying to bring everything to normalcy and be able to build upon a team and allow for that team to be a part of the paradigm we put in place because we want to ensure that we’re taking urban areas from their blight realities and creating prosperity and growth.”

 In January, it was revealed that the government will be giving “somewhere around” $350,000 in outstanding allowances to 65 former employees of Urban Renewal in Grand Bahama and the Family Islands.

 The government said it had settled with all former employees of Urban Renewal in Grand Bahama and the Family Islands who were “unceremoniously terminated” after the May 10, 2017 general election, when the Minnis administration was elected.

 Yesterday, Mr Wilchcombe said Urban Renewal did not want a repeat of that incident and ensured the workers who were let go were both properly compensated and given the opportunity to reapply for their position.

“Yes, some were told that their contracts would not be renewed, but we ensured that we provided some gratuity and assistance, we did not just send people out. We provided them with gratuity, of course. . .and of course it’s open for them to reapply if they wish. But it’s to get to some normalcy.”

 He also addressed concerns about how Urban Renewal centres were closed recently stating that these closures were to facilitate the staff restructuring and that these centres would reopen soon.