Unpaid Region 1 security guards seek help

…forced to borrow money to maintain families

Security Guards attached to the offices of the Region One Regional Democratic Council (Barima-Waini) are calling for their payment, which they have not received since January.
The unpaid workers were previously employed with another security firm, whose contract was not renewed when the coalition Government took office.
According to one security officer, his family ‘s wellbeing is dependent on the money he earns as a security guard, since with “the nature of the job and the shift system, persons employed cannot find the time to cultivate their farms, and as such depend solely on their salaries to maintain their families.”
He added that enquires regarding payments directed to Assistant Regional Executive Officer (AREO) Renitta Williams are being met with the same response each time: “Payment is on its way”.
Forced to borrow money to sustain themselves and their families, the workers are calling for urgent intervention and assistance in resolving their current plight.
Just on Wednesday last, security guards of Region Five picketed the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) calling for termination of the contract with the firm they are currently working with.
This firm, according to reports, has failed to pay its workers since December last.
The guards, who were at a breaking point, withdrew their services from several key agencies in the region to support a call for the regional administration to terminate the contract with the company to provide security to schools, hospitals and other Government agencies.
Katty Fraser, a mother of two, said her daughter is currently hospitalised, but she has no money to supply her needs.
Another guard, Vernetta LaRose, a mother of eight, who resides at Number 22 Bel Air, West Coast Berbice, said the guards were told they must open an account at a specific commercial bank, into which their salaries would be paid.
The picketing action of the guards were reportedly met with hostility from the Region 5 Executive Officer, Ovid Morrison, who ordered them out of a section of the RDC compound.
Region 5 Chairman, Vickchand Ramphal, in a meeting with the guards, voiced his hope that the Government would intervene on the guards’ behalf, as his engagements with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the firm had proved futile.