GINA staff appeals to Opposition Leader in face of unpaid salaries

Employees of the Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) have written to the Leader of the Opposition, David Granger pointing out the effects of the cut on the 2013 budgetary allocation to their agency.

The June 13, 2013 letter, signed by the management and staff of GINA said that they were prompted by Granger’s comments that there was no effect from the cuts made by the joint opposition to the budgetary allocations of some agencies in the 2013 National Budget.

The GINA staff refuted the comments saying that they were untrue since cuts have badly affected their agency which had not paid employees since April.

They said in an effort to reduce the staff’s transportation expenses, the management had implemented a roster for them to work on alternate days during the week with only a skeleton staff on the weekends.

The GINA staff said that the cuts have resulted in their production output being reduced since they were only working half time.

They were worried about their job security and were suffering from low morale.

They pointed out that they had great difficulty in meeting their individual financial commitments; some of them had dependents, including children, were indebted to financial institutions and needed to pay outstanding routine bills including utilities.

The letter concluded, “We can only hope for a swift resolution of the situation so that normalcy in our work and personal lives can be restored.”