AT the height of the City Council’s financial crisis and subsequent inability to pay salaries to workers in a timely fashion, an eight per cent increase, across the board, has been announced by Town Clerk Royston King.

Speaking at a press conference at City Hall on Friday, King said the increase was approved as of January 1.

He explained that the municipality had already bargained with the Guyana Local Government Officers Union (GLGOU) for the increase, with anticipated revenues in mind, which, unfortunately, has not materialised. King has time and again referred to the parking meter project, among other means, which could have brought in much-needed revenue, but which has since been stopped.

Assistant City Treasurer John Douglas, who also attended the press briefing, related that although salaries for December were paid to all workers, the City Council has not managed to honour its obligations to PAYE, NIS, GRA and GLGOU.

The municipality has been deducting sums for each entity every month, but has not been remitting them to the relevant agencies.

Just recently, scores of City Hall workers protested on a number of occasions for salaries owed to them. They also protested the non-remittance of the deducted amounts.

Union President, Wendy De Cunha had told the Guyana Chronicle that the non-remittance of the various sums have been going on for some months now, resulting in the workers being unable to receive any benefits and obtain loans from the union. “That is unlawful,” she stated.

Councillor Sherod Duncan, who laid flat on his back in front of City Hall’s gate at one of the protests, had chanted: “They touring and we hungry. We fed up; bad management. The town clerk must go; put in someone fit and proper.”

Other placards bore the words: “Pay our Credit Unions; we need loans”, “No money, no work”, “We want money now” and “Respect your human resources assets; they are important.”

Protesters had also chanted, “We fed up of the same thing over and over,” and one worker even said, “Courts ringing down my phone all the time; they even calling my mother.”