–can’t stop thanking council for salary increase

SEVERAL employees of the Linden Mayor and Town Council on Monday expressed satisfaction with the recent announcement that their November salaries will see a 15% increase.
The announcement was made by Linden Mayor, Mr Carwyn Holland, who revealed that the decision was agreed after some deliberation among councillors.
Many of the employees, mostly women and single mothers, were high in praise as they related the ordeal they endured, having to survive on a meagre salary, in some cases less than $30,000 a month while most received as much as $38,000.
The Council, given its cash-strapped state and limited means of generating income, was, over the last three years, unable to offer workers salary increases, or to even meet the constitutionally required minimum wage of $55, 000.

PROMISES, PROMISES
One worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the increase is a good start, and a sign of better things to come, as all she’s heard in the last three years she’s been employed were promises, promises.
“This 15% is a start; and I know we will get there, but it’s a start,” she said, adding: “It was very difficult making out with the little money, because I am a single parent; I have Courts to pay, the bank to pay, lesson fee to pay, because my daughter is writing Common Entrance. Plus, I got day-care fee, so, every month, I does got to make it do, and it really use to be tough; it was very challenging.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by Mr Dexter Gordon, a carpenter who’s worked at the Council for the past 16 years.
“We gotta thank God for li’l mercies,” he said, “because it does be a real stress. Some days you don’t even feel fuh come, but me ain’t want beg people, because if me ain’t work Saturday and Sunday, is $8, 000 a week yuh going home with. And I get two children; so I thank God for the li’l increase. At least it gon full some hole.”
Rates Collection Officer, Ms Jocelyn Smart, who has worked with the municipality for over 20 years, said the increase will serve as a motivation to come to work, as it was very stressful doing so every day, knowing that there was not much to benefit.
“We ain’t had an increase for the longest while,” she said, “so now that is Christmastime, you can be able to budget and buy stuff.”

MAKE MINIMUM WAGE
Some workers, however, stressed that the Council should strive to reach the government’s minimum wage of $55, 000, as many of them will still be earning below this, in spite of the 15% increase. Ms Natasha Claxton, who’s an assistant building inspector, said that she thinks the increase is acceptable; and she is looking forward to continuous increases. “Every time your salary increase, the market demands get higher than your salary, so you have adjust yourself to suit the market demands,” the mother of three said.
Mayor Holland said that the Council is willing to meet the minimum wage as stipulated by the government, but this may only be possible if the government is willing to bail the Council out of its $200M debt. Said he: “Once we can get rid of that monkey on our backs, which is the $200M in debt that we inherited as a Council… This is something that we came and we met; it’s a whole host of bills we have to pay that we were unaware of and unable to pay so far.

“We are asking the government for a bailout; I think we need a bailout to get out of this.”
Holland also revealed that the Council needs about three more investments like the toll booth to stand on its own two feet, and to clear all expenses and to pay workers effectively.
“The 15% increase will still keep some of the staff under the minimum wage,” he said, “so if we have the bailout, we will have some monies saved that we can put towards salary, and a smaller increase to bring people to the minimum wage; they are deserving of it, because they work very hard.”