President of St Vincent and the Grenadines Public Service Union says the membership of the Unions will decide on Saturday night whether or not protest will take place in Kingstown.
This follows an order by the Commissioner of Police, that they are prohibited from doing so near the parliament.
Elroy Boucher, head of the PSU, says a meeting was convened to decide on such Thursday evening; however, voting by all members was not possible due to time constraints.
However, Boucher said that most of the members agreed that the Police interpretation of the Public Order Act is wrong.
In a letter to the Unions, Police Commissioner Colin John said, under the Public Order Act section 7 and 10, the Unions meeting at the Kingstown Vegetable Market, White Chapel Road and Paul’s Avenue on September 07-10, 2021 are prohibited.
He said section 10 of the Act also refers to scheduled premises. The schedule according to the Act refers to the High Court building, Bay Street, Kingstown, where sittings of the House of Assembly and Courts are commonly held, also the Head of all Ministries.
The PSU head said part of the discussion on Thursday night was about the risk involved once persons took to the streets.
“There are risks involved; however you vote, the majority binds us. There are other ways of protesting. I don’t think we should go against the Police orders even though I think they are wrong. However, I would not impose my thinking on the membership. As a body, they will have to decide what action will be held during that time”.
The Unions are protesting what they say are changes to the Public Health Amendment Act, making it mandatory for specific categories of workers to take the COVID -19 vaccine.
In a letter to the Governor-General, the Unions notified her Excellency of their withdrawal of services from 7-10 September 2021.
Boucher told News784 that even if the majority voted not to go on the protest line, service withdrawal remains in effect.
