Walwyn slams Premier for telling pensioners to get second jobs
Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn and members of the Alliance are criticising Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley for reportedly suggesting that pensioners in the BVI consider taking second jobs to cope with the rising cost of living.
Speaking on the Alliance: Pulse of the People broadcast this week, Walwyn said, “The first time [the Premier] mentioned… that those pensioners could go to social development to get help. Last night, Dr he mentioned they could go get a second job.”
According to Walwyn, the Premier’s responses to questions about the pensioners were insensitive and did not reassure him that issues affecting them would be addressed in the near future. “Our pensioners who helped to build this country, that he is able to enjoy the opportunity to be the Premier of this country. And he’s saying to them, ‘Go find another job,’” Walwyn said. “Or they can go to social development for assistance. Is that what we want for our seniors?”
Second District Representative Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull criticised what he called the government’s “nonchalant, callous” approach to the hardships facing elderly residents, whose pensions have not been adjusted to match inflation or the rising cost of living.
“We have to do it, and it seems like this nonchalant, callous type of approach,” Turnbull argued. “We’ll see what happens, and we’ll get it done before the end of the year, and then we’ll come back to you. But people are suffering.”
During a recent House of Assembly debate, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley suggested that retirees should consider re-entering the workforce.
“I believe there are other things that can be done in terms of advice to retirees, other initiatives that can be done for persons to seek various types of employment,” the Premier stated. “Not because you’re retired doesn’t mean that you just go home and sit down, you know. There’s a lot that can be done with retirees, including things through heritage and culture and things like that.”
But Turnbull said such comments ignore the struggles many seniors face on fixed incomes. “You’re talking between $1,500 and $1,800 a month that they’re expected to live off of,” he said. “How do we expect to take care of those people who paved the way with $1,800 a month?”
The Premier noted that a study on pension adjustments, promised to be completed by June, is still pending and that action is urgently needed.
“A man or a woman sitting in the House of Assembly has to be grateful if they get to the age of a senior in our society,” Territorial At-Large Representative Stacy ‘Buddha’ Mather argued. “You have to stop thinking about the problem as it exists just now. You have to think if you were in these forced institutions, if you were sitting down at home or in a home, and you’re wondering about where your next meal would come from.”
He added that it was unfortunate that lawmakers could not devise a plan or strategy to address the situation.
“I’ve heard my colleagues in there say, ’Oh, we’ve tried these things. They didn’t work,” Mather said. “Well, try them again. Adjust it and move forward.”
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The title is misleading. It was S!0wW@nde and his A$$C!0wn Brigagde that told pensioners to get a second job. They and the opposition need to be straight up with the public. Should have done that before enacting the greedy bill and accepting the money. Dem is all louse
If they have taken over as they should have done, all of them would have need a 1st job and we would have been in a better place. These selfish no clue leaders are taking advantave..
Change don’t come from people of the system. Rather from those against the system.
Had a second well paying job , as a director of The Bank of Asia. I wonder what the golden parachute & pension benefits are like!
Why doesn’t SS just up the payout!! It is ridiculous that SS spent 42 million of our money on a losing project to benefit their friends and we the Pensioners are suffering!!
UP THE BENEFIT PAYOUT!!!
due to the fact that most people getting pensions NEVER paid into the pension pot , all ex government workers who now take money out the pension pot they never contributed too so that the problem with raising the amount, now they should raise it and just keep ex government workers on a lower threshold.
YOu sound like a real a**. All working persons in this country pays into social security including public servants. It’s deducted by weekly from their pay. You need to do your research.
Definitely social security needs to do better!! They just take take take with minimum out put to persons who.paying social security since 16 years old!
Where ? Where are the jobs for the pensioners ?
If Myron thinks that people will support that watered down so called Alliance simply because VIP are making some blunders, he will get the biggest surprise. People are hurting yes, the government is doing a lot of BS, yes. You were a Minister under an administration that also did a lot of BS. What are your plans if you are elected and form the government? Please lay out your plans, give us some meat and not hot air. You are smarter than this, please stop it! You cannot expect people to vote for you because they are upset, they should support you because you have the better plans to take the Territory forward. The sad part is the other two members of your team are empty vessels with nothing meaningful to add to the conversation.
if he give his plans now others will run with it as if it was theirs and print off manifesto as if it was originally theirs to begin with… remember he is not a government minister just an elected official so he has no authority to make any changes now until he becomes a government minister
A bunch of heartless morons!!!
“Go to the social development” is their favorite phrase to pass the responsibility. Have heard each and EVERY time assistance was sought.
Meanwhile, there are those who are looked out for with white envelopes, and those people, as it turns out, are not in need as compared to those who are in HOPELESS AND WRETCHED NEED. Those are the die hard assured vote along party and personal friendship and family lines.
Friends, that is the true state of our politics.
In fact, however, this issue as it relates to suffering seniors is a long and extended problem.
It does or will not take an “INITIATIVE” to fix it. It will only take a good and caring heart, compassion and a will to get it done. Stop pertending to the people with do nothing words like “initiatives” and others.
The people have seen when and that were put inplace to establish a political personal wdesire actually was done and came into being and that was the Greedy Bill, for eaxmple. What will it take them to creat one for seniors, the once back bone of this country? Indeed the national mode of operating can be summed as VENOMOUS, INFECTIOUS PARASITES.
Assuredly, we are now living in an era of our lost heritage and cause, where personal and racial freedom has been substituted for economic oppression..
Most BVI seniors living on a pension from their career in private or public employment are self employed so why do they need a 2nd job? The whole purpose of pensions and retirement it to liberate yourself from employment(by others) to obtain the goal of self employment. As usual a persons period of self employment ends with serious injury, mental decline and eventually death.
I rest my case, natalio did not ask tell that to his party artist when he gave Vybz Kartel quarter million USD that could have been added to senior citizens pension payout. He has a boy mentality of jamming and gyrating and traveling bling bling and curse oversight to his authority.
“Wheatley for reportedly suggesting that pensioners in the BVI consider taking second jobs to cope with the rising cost of living.”
once a man 2x a child his time will come too on the same pension but then again the greedy bill done giving them big pension
imagine independence?
but uk bad
uk enslaving us
uk colonizing us
look with you two eyes what your people are doing to you
them man say go so social development lol
these the same people who gave out big grants to fake fishers, fake farmers, fake university students and government workers who were being paid during lockdown lmfaooo
UK out for us tho dont mind the talk ,, uhuh
Mr. Premier I am 80 years old. My pension is $870 per month. I need a job to supplement my income. Please direct me where to find a job. You can respond here @123. Waiting for your response.
imagine sorting out a ridiculous pension package for yourself and telling everybody else to go look a second job after they retire to make ends meet. Worthless set of people running this place. is your own does do you the worst. I hope all the bird brain voters manage to remember all this when election time comes.
A wothliss set ah muddah s**nks!!!!!!
This is what you all voted for. Pay for your stupidity.
Exactly.
I glad for all of them. Go look wuk.
HHERE HE COME AGAIN , ANOTHER NAME , WIGO WE KNOW ITS YOU AGAIN / WHY ARE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH WALWYN ? , NOBODY AIN’T ASKING YOU TO SHARE YOUR GUTTER MENTALITY WITH US / HATRED – JEALOUSY AND EVILNESS WILL DESTROY ANYONE’S MIND SO YOUR EGO IS GOING TO CAUSD AN IMPLOSION IN YOUR ARROGANT AND SELF PROCLAIMED ESTEEMED WANNABE JUDGE
JUDAS MIND • GO WASH YOUR WIG
Are these men and woman representing the country realize that persons born in 1960 are 65 years old this year 2025? look a second job. What the h**l kind a reasoning is that and some taking trips accomplishing nothing. Some give more than half their lives. Come on man.
There are many. There is some deliberate s**t going on in government.
I respect the grandstanding but most of them in there will retire comfortably at the expense of the taxpayers. The same person who suggested people get a second job and the ones who were in there acting all offended. But don’t worry, they will meet hardship too, despite their ill gotten wealth.
The Alliance when they were NDP had no problem stopping the increments of civil servants for years. That’s part of the reason some pensioners can’t make ends meet today, because they were paid out on way lower salaries than they should have been. We all like to talk good until we get in the hot seat and start doing the same nonesense.
To : $Alliance$
You are absolutely correct. I remember those years like yesterday. They excrciatingly depressive. The financial scarcity, expectations never satisfied, and the need sent many into deep depths of deppression and other mental disorders.
Very good point ndp did a lot a s**t too with people increments for yearsssss!! I ain’t a big vip fan but I can’t forgive ndp wickedness with salaries at least vip fix that a bit.. but now increments on hold don’t even make sense do evaluations.. people don’t get increment no more it seems like.
Pension is the same if not better when Hon. Moron was in power.
Wrong!!!!!
The Pension scheme that the government has does not make any sense at all. A pension scheme to my knowledge is a scheme where employee puts in a percentage of their earnings and the employer matches this amount, this if the employee wish to join. When the employee decides to leave the employment/firm after how many years they will in turn receive their full amount earned from the Pension savings/scheme.
Who thought of the bright idea to give all Government workers a pension and the employees have not even contributed to the scheme that is just a height of nonsense if you ask me. That is why the Government can’t get anything done for the country because imagine how many number of persons each year who retires and have worked 25 years for the government and they in turn have to pay out these individuals……
The Government needs to look into a new pension scheme and make it mandatory for employees to pay into the scheme, then they wouldn’t be at a huge loss overall.