JOB LAYOFFS in the public sector that could exceed 3 000 are imminent, foreshadowing a bleak Christmas for many Barbadian households.
Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler, who has promised the country an update on the economy this week, is expected to include details of the size of the cut in Government expenditure on civil service salaries when he speaks.
His statement will coincide with the start of an Article 4 consultancy being undertaken by a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) beginning on Thursday.
Sinckler is likely to make his statement to the House of Assembly, which is expected to meet on Tuesday and Friday.
Speculation has been running high all weekend that the on-again, off-again measure which Government said was its “last option” is now about to become the top order of business since it needs to meet stipulations on reducing the fiscal deficit mandated by international lending institutions.
Reports, characterized by a heightened level of anxiety in some circles at the National Union of Public Workers, suggest that thousands of public servants, starting with the temporary, including possibly as many as 1 000 from statutory corporations, could be going home as early as January 2014.
