Rodney COI staffers complain about non-payment

Aug 06, 2015 News

After enduring a series of excuses and delays, the technical and reporting staffers attached to the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (WRCOI) are calling on the relevant authorities to make good on outstanding payments.

The complaints come on the heels of assurance offered by the Ministry of Presidency on July 24, last, that outstanding balances will be settled with WRCOI staffers entitled to payment.

The WRCOI’s employees, by way of a statement to this newspaper, have explained, however, that upon the conclusion of the previous sitting of the Commission, in March 2015, their contracts were not renewed and they have not been paid since, despite turning up dutifully for work.

Inquiries into non-payment to the Secretary/Administrator of the COI, Hugh Denbow, they said, have proved futile with their calls being unanswered and him being absent from work for long periods of time.

They said they were assured that their contracts were with then Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon awaiting signature and that they should be paid soon.

According to the staffers, in May, again, they were told not to worry because their contracts were being looked into and they would be paid from April 1 to May 31. During this time and throughout, the staff said they kept on reporting for work.

They said they were given the same runaround in June, that led them to approaching Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, who reportedly had no knowledge that they were unpaid, or that their contracts stipulated that once the life of the Commission was ongoing, they were not permitted to seek other employment.

“There we were advised to not return to work until we were called and told otherwise to which we acquiesced. A few days later it was brought to our attention that our Administrator did not submit our unit’s name for renewal of contracts even though he had assured us time and again that he had done so,” the staffers stated.

The staff is claiming that on July 23, last, calls were made for them to return to work on Monday (July 27) for the commencement of the WRCOI’s final sitting. They said they were asked to report on July 24, last, for a meeting with Minister of State Joseph Harmon, where they were subsequently assured that they would be paid.

“On Monday, we all reported for work under the assumption that we were going to be paid, just to be met with changes to staff and a long drawn-out excuse about why we would not be paid that day,” they said.

The Senior Editor, who had constantly inquired about the non-payment, and a Transcriber, were replaced without notice.

“On Tuesday, we heard another cock-and-bull story about why we were not paid and as a unit we approached our Administrator and told him that we were not prepared to complete our report, because it seemed once again that we were going to be given a raw deal. He acquiesced and said that he totally understands and does not give us any wrong if that is our decision,” the statement noted.

They said that day they were informed that the Ministry of the Presidency was no longer handling their contracts, but the Ministry of Legal Affairs. The next day, a few of the staff visited the Ministry where they met two senior officials.

At that meeting they learnt that their names were never submitted for renewal of contracts, despite numerous assurances by the Administrator that it was.

“We were informed by the Ministry of Presidency that our names were not submitted because they were told and we assumed they were told by our Administrator that ‘we were not doing anything’ so we should not be paid,” they said.

“Whilst we do not have a valid contract, we were never told by our Administrator or OP that our services were no longer required. We kept going to work because previously when our contracts expired, we usually still got paid, and assumed that the same was going to happen this time also,” they said.

They said at the Ministry of Legal Affairs, they learnt that their names were only submitted for payment for July and not for the previous months.

“We are simply appealing to the relevant authorities to look into this matter and see that this injustice stops,” they lamented.

“We are all entitled to our pay because we were never told to stop coming to work by our Administrator. The unit comprises single parents and people who depend on their salaries to live. This is our last recourse, because so far no one has heeded our calls nor has anyone met with us. We are just being stonewalled.”

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Rodney COI staffers complain about non-payment

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