THE EDITOR, Sir:
KINDLY ALLOW me space in your newspaper to respond to statements made by Senator Burchell Whiteman printed in your newspaper last Saturday. I observe from the article the way he is calling for more pay for Senators due to the fact that there has been the establishment of a committee responsible for periodically reviewing legislation which he claims will mean more work and participation of members of the Senate.
I have no problem with Mr. Whiteman and his colleagues calling for an increase in their salary, if they feel they need it. My problem is that these politicians seek to feather their own beds while not paying much attention to other workers. They are not the only persons who work on behalf of the country.
It is obvious that there are people in this country who work just as hard as some of them, and even more. Some of them have to work under adverse conditions, and I make mention of the island's teachers, who this government continues to ignore in their plea for a decent salary.
Mr. Whiteman mentioned increased duties that would mean increased pay for those in the Senate. Just recently, when he was the Minister of Education, he did not help the island's teachers in securing a reasonable salary, especially when the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) was introduced, which increased the workload of the teachers of examination classes enormously.
Didn't Mr. Whiteman at that time think that the teachers might have needed a little more because of their increased duties? He, and other government members should be more sensitive to the needs of all workers in the population since all of them, politicians, teachers, policemen among many others help to build this nation and all need an increase in salary to lift our standard of living.
I am etc.,
VIVIENNE PITTER
viennepitter@hotmail.com
Cooreville Gardens
Kingston 20
Via Go-Jamaica
