…payment plan suggested
Just one day after scores of City Hall workers took to the streets protesting the non-payment of their retroactive monies for the years 2017 along with the non-payment of their National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Town Clerk, Royston King is now saying that the Municipality is unable to pay said monies in lump sum.
This disclosure was made at a meeting held on Monday with the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) to discuss the workers welfare.
However, as the main source of contention was regarding the payment of retroactive monies on wages and salaries and increases given to the workers, King suggested a payment plan which was reportedly accepted with some modifications by the Union.
“The Council at this point in time is unable to pay the retroactive monies in a lump sum…however we suggested a payment plan, which was accepted with some modifications, by the union” the Town Clerk disclosed.
King had stated on Monday that the retroactive payments have already been paid for 2015 and 2016, while City Hall is now working to pay out the outstanding amounts for 2017.
The workers are however contending that they are owed a small sum of money from the year 2016 and the entire of 2017.
“Out of 27 months, they have 13 months left back for us and they said that they gon pay it this month and we cant get a date…,” one of the protesters had revealed.
The group of protesters who were represented by GLU consisted of members of the Engineering Department and the Solid Waste Department.
During the protest they stated that they are tired of failed promises.
“We’re protesting here because of an injustice that [has] been going on here for the longest while. I wuking here 10 years now and you aint getting nothing tangible. Everything is just promises, promises and nothing aint coming out of it…” a protester decried.
King had related to the media during the protest that the increases initially promised to the workers were going to be paid from anticipated revenues which fell through.
“The Council awarded its workers a pay package across the board in 2015, a 5% in 2016, 2017, 7% and 2018, 8% across the board to all of its workers and these increases were based on anticipated revenues which were not realized by the council.”
Regarding the non-payment of the NIS, the town clerk related that “other concerns raised by the union are being adequately addressed by the Mayor and City Council”.
Over the years, City Hall has been attracting attention for its inability to pay its workers.
The Mayor has been recorded in the media deeming the Municipality as “bankrupt” and in the past, Central Government has had to intervene with finances to provide a bail out.
