Loretta Butler-Turner in the House of Assembly.
By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
EMPLOYEES at the Long Island Museum have not been paid for three months and may be out of a job “very soon”, according to Long Island MP Loretta Butler Turner.
In a statement, Mrs Butler Turner said the museum, which was initially private, is now supported by public funds that pay the salaries of three full time employees.
She said the employees were told by an official of the Antiquities Monuments & Museums Corporation (AMMC) to close the museum, without earlier warning, until further notice.
“The employees have not been paid for three months and do not know when they will be paid or when the museum will reopen,” Mrs Butler Turner said.
“With Long Island struggling economically, the non-payment of three employees who have families to support, and the closure of the museum, is yet another setback for the island’s economy.
“Three months is an extraordinarily long time for employees not to be paid. This has created a tremendous burden on the employees and their families,” she added.
Mrs Butler Turner said Cabinet ministers should forgo their salaries for three months to “appreciate what these families are going through.”
She said: “Having already abandoned Long Islanders, the PLP is making matters even worse. The museum is a prime spot visited by tourists and Bahamians visiting Long Island. The museum is also used for local events and by students. “The closure of the museum would be uncaring and short-sighted. I call on the government to immediately pay the employees and to keep the museum open.”
According to the AMMC’s website, the Long Island Museum is the principal historic heritage conservation and preservation agency on that island. It is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history and culture of Long Island and the wider Bahamas for the visitors and future generations.
Comments
birdiestrachan 9 years ago
Ms. Butler before you say who should give up their pay. you should give up your salary. and may be your bleeding heart will heal. and see if you can get Minnis to give up his,, and stop making headlines when he gives school children cup cakes.
GrassRoot 9 years ago
birdie, disappointed, your lines don't rhime. I think there is a quick fix for this. Museum staff to join the PLP, that will give the employees immediate access to slush funds an numbers boyz bonus payments.
TalRussell 9 years ago
by TalRussell
duppyVAT 9 years ago
Just part of the PLPs campaign to drive authentic Bahamians out of their homeland ..... the PLP has been on a social genocide campaign against Long Island since 1967 ....... this is a COB sociological study worth doing ........... sorry ...... University of The Bahamas
PS ........ they didnt give the schools any budget to operate with this year as well ...... sure not doubling the "investment" in education on this island
TalRussell 9 years ago
Comrades at least Long Islanders can't blame loss of THREE (3) paychecks on illegal Haitians. Like they say on Loretta's island, what is a Haitian?
TheMadHatter 9 years ago
Sc$&# You TalRussell !!! Are you suggesting that Long Islanders do not have the right to survive as a culture - but are instead obligated by some moral or ethical code that you are aware of - to allow their island to be taken over by Haitians and to mix-breed with them to change their genetic identity? How come only Haitians have the right to breed and survive as a race?
Greentea 9 years ago
Ridiculous. This is a lovely museum. And it should NOT be allowed to close. Need better leadership at the AMMC-
duppyVAT 9 years ago
True the AMMC is like BEC .......... the staff are not civil servants. So the fault should really not be put on the government per se
TheMadHatter 9 years ago
I guess they checked the ID numbers on the voting ballots of those workers. Remember your voting ballot has a number on it.
TheMadHatter
TalRussell 9 years ago
Comrade I'd stay away from McDonald's cuz I think Ronald is shorting you, three fries short of a Happy Meal.
TheMadHatter 9 years ago
Perhaps I am coming up short in my mental faculties on this one Tal. Afraid I don't get your point. Are you disputing that our ballots have numbers on them? Any idea what happens to those ballots, say, a month after the election has been certified and everyone sworn in without street protests etc?
Are they destroyed then by fire? Who witnesses this destruction? If not, then why are they being kept for years and years EXCEPT to update the political party databases?
TalRussell 9 years ago
You do know, if you really are so "private citizen" concerned, that on any issue or policy you disagree with, you can write a citizen letter, detailing your concerns and send them off to both the Attorney General and Governor-General. Have you ever done so?
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