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CSA Members Who Signed Petition To Sack Executive Say: ‘WE WERE UNAWARE’

A new controversy has arisen with the Civil Service Association (CSA) over a petition calling for the removal of its executive.

The petition was started by a group within the trade union calling itself the “Save our Union” team which claimed to have amassed 521 signatures calling for the sacking of the executive over a number of issues including the failure of the executive to remain “politically impartial and independent”.

But now, some members who signed that petition are claiming that they were unaware of its purpose.

The controversy is the latest episode in months of infighting within the CSA membership over the recent decision of former president Mary Isaac to accept a senatorial appointment from the opposition United Workers Party.

Members opposed to that move have been quite vocal, calling for her resignation. But now they have trained their guns on the entire executive and want it out of office.

The latest attempt to remove her and the entire executive is receiving opposition with at least three of those who signed the petition for their removal claiming to be unaware of the co ntent of the document that they signed.

The petition was circulated at a May 29, meeting of members opposed to the present executive. That meeting was held at the Castries City Hall.

But four members who spoke with THE VOICE separately in telephone conversations, and who asked not to be named, have come forward voicing objections to the intentions of the petition, even though they signed it.

Barthelmy Fedee, one of those behind the petition, is baffled at this turn of events..

“This is a bit surprising to me. We explained the purpose of the petition at the City Hall meeting. Great lengths were taken to explain the rationale behind the petition. It was explained why we had to remove the executive,” Fedee said.

He said that at the time of the meeting two documents were available for signatures. One was the attendance register which was signed by persons attending the meeting and the other was the petition which had a preamble to it.

“The petition was placed on the table after the meeting. I do not believe any one was duped into signing a document he/she did not want to sign,” Fedee said.

One of the four members who signed told THE VOICE yesterday that he was unaware that the document he had signed at the City Hall meeting was a petition.

“I attended a meeting at the City hall. On entering I signed in as an attendee. I was not aware that I was signing a petition. No one at the time said that the paper I signed was a petition. It was only after that I got to know that what I signed was a petition to remove the entire executive,” the member told this reporter.

Another member said that she signed the petition but not for its intended purpose.

“I signed, but I signed up for a meeting. I did not sign to remove the Executive Council,” the member said.

Said the member who made the startling announcement that his name was on the petition without his knowledge: “I did not sign the petition. I do not know how my name appears on the petition.”

According to Fedee some members are saying that they did not get a chance to sign the petition while others are claiming to have a change of heart.

Micah George is an established name in the journalism landscape in St. Lucia. He started his journalism tutelage under the critical eye of the Star Newspaper Publisher and well known journalist, Rick Wayne, as a freelancer. A few months later he moved to the Voice Newspaper under the guidance of the paper’s recognized editor, Guy Ellis in 1988.

Since then he has remained with the Voice Newspaper, progressing from a cub reporter covering court cases and the police to a senior journalist with a focus on parliamentary issues, government and politics. Read full bio...

5 Comments

  1. How can grown members of society be in such a perpetual state of drunkenness ? Alcohol does permit some semblance of recovery to normality, although the damage to braincells are permanent and irreversible. For adults to sign documents, only to claim afterwards that they were unaware of the consequences of their actions is worthy of Biblical interpretations; therefore I refer to the book of great confusion:

    Genesis 19:30-36New International Version (NIV)
    Lot and His Daughters

    30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
    31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth.
    32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

    33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

    34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”
    35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

    36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.

    ————

    Now that I have been told by the Great book of Mass confusion, that it is possible to have sex with your little daughters, get them both pregnant, yet not be AWARE of one’s actions, I am better able to understand CSA members signing petitions while comatose.

    1. “… their actions is worthy of Biblical interpretations; therefore I refer to the book of great confusion.”
      ————————————————————————————————————-
      Son-of-man, who has recently transitioned to Al-Hakeem =The Wise, or Al-Hakeem =The Fool, let me remind you once more; the Quran, your religion’s holy book, is 90% of the Bible which you refer to as ‘the book of great confusion’.

      1. Many times I hit the submit button without proof-reading my statements only to realize later that I have written something improperly, but for your quoting this statement, the verb ‘to be’ would have gone unnoticed in the singular. However after reading the complete sentence it is O.K., and leads to this request of the excellent staff at the Voice – Please allow us to make corrections to the posted statements. The new format is excellent, but for individuals like myself who find difficulty writing The Foreign language of the slave master’s English, the ability to perform corrections as was available in the old format is truly missed.

        O.K. KANE, HERE’S WHAT YOUR HEROES THINK OF YOU, I TOLD THEM YOU WORKED AT JUNIORS NOT McDonald.

        https://www.facebook.com/iseeitall/videos/vb.34682704754/10153052369309755/?type=2&theater

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        1. “… but, as our jungle biking guide (in Soufriere) explains, “We acknowledge our history. We know where we came from, but we don’t live in the past. We learned to let go. Otherwise it poisons you.” And with that sage relationship advice, he splits a coconut with a machete and invites us to sip”

          Maybe you can learn something, or two, from this jungle biking guide from Soufriere.

  2. In the shark tank of Zealous opportunists, is it far fetched that a tiger, hammerhead or “Jaws” offered a likkle payola “under the sand bar” to a few “weasel” barracudas?
    The conniving on the reef continues unabated.

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