By Kimone Witter
The Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) has rejected statements from General Secretary of the National Workers' Union, Granville Valentine that the agency has customer service staff working on six-month contracts.
The agency has also rejected Mr. Valentine's assertion that these temporary employees are working in clear vacancies.
PICA said the statements are false and unsubstantiated and should be withdrawn.
It explained that in situations where people are newly employed, they are engaged and are placed on a probationary period of three months to assess their performance in order to determine whether they should be appointed to a permanent position.
PICA said it is most unfortunate that Mr. Valentine would make such statements based on what he claims to be reliable information without first contacting the agency for confirmation.
