Workers meet M&CC over unpaid salaries, retroactive pay

Oct 03, 2017 News

Town Clerk, Royston King at the meeting yesterday

The people working for the Mayor and City Council descended on City Hall, yesterday, demanding their retroactive payments and salaries. The workers were told that the council is going through some financial difficulties and cannot pay them at this point in time.
Guyana Labour Union’s, General-Secretary, Mr Carvil Duncan was there to represent the workers at the meeting with Town Clerk, Royston King.
King later stated that the council is trying to garner funds for the payment of the workers, by writing to the Ministry of Finance and the Evaluation Unit so that the Council can know the amount to be paid to the workers.
.He stated that being an independent organisation, the council has extremely limited resources. He also stated that although there are limited resources, the council still has to provide a service to the city.
Mr King stated that the workers must be patient because they are not the only individuals waiting for their salaries. He further stated that although monies for projects are limited, the council is continuously expected to maintain the city and reiterated that the council has been reaching out to people but this approach has not been reciprocated.
According to the Town Clerk,” We are trying because we want you to keep bread on your tables. I also agreed with the General Secretary that we need more communication.” Carvil Duncan had made this observation earlier in the meeting.
He also stated that there is need for overtime payment in other areas. He said that the workers and the council must work together.
According to Duncan, “The Town-Clerk stated that the workers would have been paid last Wednesday. Wednesday has passed and the workers have not been paid. There is some retroactive payment for 2015/2016 that was to be paid in September. So the workers have not been paid again.
They decided that it was best to come here, to find out exactly what is going on, because if the union is unaware and the workers are not aware then someone has to be making the decisions.”
Mr Duncan said that the Town Clerk has been saying that the council has financial difficulties and as a result, is unable to pay. “My major problem is, if you are facing problems, for months earlier, why are you taking on more people and you can’t pay your current staff? I think that, although there is shortage in the clerical people that they should stop taking on more clerks.
“If you are to take on more people, take on more people who are cleaning the streets and picking up garbage cause that is where the money is …not with the pen pushers. So when you take them on and you find yourself in a position that you can sustain the labour force then you can expand. But unless you do that, you gonna have that difficulty every year.”
“The estimated payroll for the 1000 workers is $121M per month. Mr Duncan said that the workers at today’s meeting are not even the majority. The people filling the place are not in fact the earners to the council. That is where the problem is.”
Mr Duncan stated that there is only one way to correct it and that is to get rid of the council. “Even when the past Town Clerk, Carol Sooba was here, we were getting paid. Though she wasn’t as brilliant as the present Town Clerk, she understood that workers have to get paid.”
He also said,” When the council is going to muster the money to meet “their” salaries? The workers’ salaries are being reduced because of the added burden they have to carry; some are taxed with interest payments on loans for late payment.
Duncan stated that the Town-Clerk said that the council is going to pay the workers by Wednesday but again King, the Town Clerk, is saying that they have to discuss when to pay retroactive payment.
Duncan said that this was agreed to since in February.
The labour force of the Mayor and City Council works in different areas to keep the city clean and it would be unfair to deprive them of their salaries. Most of them have families and children.
Some of the workers have their families that need the little salary to survive day to day. Others have loans that have penalties when not paid.