KINGSTOWN, St, Vincent, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says that he will bring to Parliament a law to enshrine the pension rights of public servants who returned to their jobs after being fired under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“I know we have had some differences, and there is a minority of public servants, a small minority, during the time of COVID, some of us had a difference,” Gonsalves said during a Church Service to mark Public Service Day.
“And some of you probably even demonstrated against me when I went to Parliament, which is your right. And I’m sure that none of you had anything to do with busting my head, so I don’t hold those things in my mind,” Gonsalves said, referring to the law that Cabinet passed in 2021, which resulted in hundreds of public sector employees losing their jobs for not taking a COVID-19 jab.
Gonsalves, during the statement marking Public Service Day, defended the decision of the government in 2021, saying, “I acted then, and I still believe that I acted correctly to save lives and livelihoods.
“This was a pandemic which was brought upon us by forces outside and challenging and difficult for all of us, and we handled it, I believe, better than most countries in the Caribbean and in the world, and we came out pretty good.”
St. Vincent and the Grenadines was the only Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to impose a vaccine mandate, and it did so even as its infection and death rates were lower than those of most other countries within the bloc.
“There are still some scars. But we must not allow those scars to be perpetually scabrous. As I’ve indicated for a long time now, those of you who chose not to abide by the requirement of the vaccine, as the Parliament had determined, please, if you’re still not back at work, come back to work.”
Gonsalves reiterated that public servants who lost their jobs under the vaccine mandate would not lose any of the benefits that they had accumulated before 2021 if they returned to their posts.
“Indeed, without having that embedded in law, there’s a large number of public servants, teachers, police, public servants who can attest to what I’m saying,” Gonsalves said.
“And I intend to put what we have been doing in practice in a legislative form, just in case that, by the hand of God, I’m no longer around, that that benefit will continue. I want to say that to you. Notice I said by the hand of God, not by any other hand because I intend to be around for quite a long time.”
Vincentians are expected to elect a new government by November, ahead of the February 2026 constitutional deadline.
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