By: Andrew Carmichael
More than two dozens Community Infrastructure Improvement Project (CIIP) workers attached to the Rose Hall Town in East Berbice have not been paid for the year, and they are now frustrated with the difficulties they are facing in maintaining their families.
Some workers have already had their utility services disrupted because of their inability to pay the bills, taking into consideration that they were last paid in December 2021. It is now three months into the new year, and the workers have not received a single cent for their services, even though they continue to perform their duties.
They get a sum of approximately $35,000 for a 16-day work month, and from this, their NIS contributions are deducted. For many, this is the only source of income to maintain their families and pay the bills.
According to some workers, no information is forthcoming regarding the lengthy delay in their payment.
“Over two months now we have no pay, and what the Town Clerk, the Mayor and the Coordinator need to do is to come out and tell us something about our salaries,” Carl Barnwell, one of the affected workers, told this publication. “That is what we want, but you find that nobody coming out and saying anything; no respect and no regard for us,” he added.
Barnwell and the others have all vented their frustration. According to him, he has racked up a $17,000 bill at the community shop, and still has not paid his utility bills for the year.
Meanwhile, Drupatie Ramkissoon, a single parent mother of two who has been working for the past 15 years with CIIP, related that there is no one else from whom she can borrow money.
“I don’t have no one who I could go to and they will help me with money. You have to pay for water, you have to pay the light bill, you have to pay the phone bill, you have to pay the internet bill, and there is nothing there… They come to me already for the light, and I had to borrow money just to stop them from taking it away. The water bill was $8,900, and I borrow money and pay that. The internet is off right now, I can’t make it more to borrow, I already borrow to pay the light bill and to pay the water bill. The phone is off too,” the woman added.
Another worker, Jourdan Thomas, who is also a single parent, explained that it is very strenuous to send his 15-year-old son to school, given that he has not been paid for the year.
Jenifer Henry, a mother of six, has said efforts to enquire about their payments have not been successful. She related that she had raised her concerns with a senior official of the Municipality, who told her that they are only responsible for ensuring that the work is executed, but have no say in when the workers get paid.
“Right now it is hard, because I owe water bill, I owe the light bill, and I have people working with me and I don’t have money to pay them and the people walk off the job, plus I have to eat. Many days I don’t have rice to cook, and I have to ask my children to help me,” the 52-year-old woman has said.
In an invited comment, Town Clerk of the Municipality, Natasha Munroe, said it is the Local Government Ministry that is responsible for paying workers. She said the Ministry explained that the late payment came about because there was no budget, and it was only recently passed.
According to the Town Clerk, she was promised that the cheque would be made available soon. If this comes to fruition, it will take a few more days before salaries become available in the workers’ bank accounts.
