Security guards attached to Integrated Security Service who are still to collect their February and January salaries and part of their December salary were on Tuesday chased out of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) boardroom at Fort Wellington by Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) Regional Executive Officer (REO) Ovid Morrison.
The guards had initially been calling on the Government to address their concerns since some of them have already lost their telephone service while the electricity to their homes has been disconnected for non-payment.
With no response from the Government, the Region Five Chairman, Vickchand Ramphal met with the guards to address the issue, but the REO tried to stop the meeting and chased the guards out of the boardroom.
About two minutes into the meeting, Morrison had stormed into the boardroom and demanded that the room be vacated. Following that, the guards were forced to continue the meeting cramped in the Chairman’s office.
Ramphal said he was disappointed by the actions of the REO, adding that he had informed the REO that the boardroom was going to be used for that meeting. He noted that the boardroom was the property of the Region and hence belonged to the people of Region Five.
“Whatever asset this region has belongs to all of you, the people of this region…What took place this afternoon clearly shows the disregard and disrespect that leaders in this region have for our people. I am very disturbed about what took place this afternoon, because I made arrangements to have the boardroom available to all of you to vent your concerns and dissatisfaction of how you have been treated by Integrated Security Services,” he said.
While the Regional Chairman focused his attack on the disrespect shown by the REO and its impact on the people of that region, the guards were given an opportunity to air their concerns.
Katy Fraser, 32, from Number 29 Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB), said she was presently sending her two children, one to primary school and the other to nursery school without any lunches.
“When me son get assignment, me can’t afford to give him money to go on the Internet, he losing marks every day for that,” she said.
Fraser is extremely concerned for the well-being of her children and is worried that their education will be drastically affected if her salary is not immediately paid.
According to Fraser, the company reportedly let her go last Wednesday after she and others began to complain about the non-payment and threatened to go to the media.
Another guard, Mohamed Ayube, 69, of Lot 123 Shieldstown, WCB, said he received a sum of money on Tuesday, but it was a portion of his salary.
Another worker, Terry Abrams, said the officials were not looking at the relevant issues and addressing them in a timely manner for the betterment of citizens. He encouraged his colleagues, “We will have to continue pressing on for ourselves until we get what we need.”
