For yet another month, employees of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) have not been paid and the city administration is claiming that it needs $4 billion in owed rates to fulfill its responsibilities to its staff, who are being prepared for possible industrial action over the situation.
The Guyana Labour Union (GLU) will be holding a meeting on Monday morning to decide the way forward, workers said yesterday, while the Guyana Local Government Officers Union (GLGOU) has asked its members to engage in a go-slow and prepare to picket City Hall during their lunch break.
Early last month, workers employed by the M&CC were paid for their services rendered in September, after they protested. However, when it came time for these workers to be paid for October, no payments were made.
A statement from City Hall on Thursday evening said the situation was a direct result of negative circumstances that resulted in a failure to implement “certain revenue generating initiatives,” and has been compounded by the inability to collect outstanding taxes, particularly from some large corporations.
Declaring that its employees have been patient and understanding but have their own personal responsibilities and circumstances, the city administration implored those persons, businesses and corporations that have outstanding rates to make immediate payments so that employees may be paid.
It noted that in the past the administration has relied on the courts to bring some relief but it now needs over $4 billion that is owed so that it can satisfy its responsibilities. “The Minister of Communities is currently working on an initiative to revamp the city’s revenue collections methods and we eagerly await the conclusion of that so that we may once again have the capacity to restore our capital city to its Garden City Splendor,” the statement concluded.
