Team Herald
SANGUEM: The staffers of Sanguem Municipal Council have bitterly complained of non-payment of their salaries since last three months.
Sanguem Municipal Workers Association President Prakash Naik told Herald that the municipality has not paid their salaries since October this year and this has put them in great inconvenience.
Due to non payment of salaries, the workers are facing extreme difficulties in the payment of monthly bills and term fees of their children.
The worst problem is however envisaged by the council workers in the repayment of bank loans and personal borrowings from friends and neighbours which keep mounting by each passing day, Naik said.
“The shopkeepers from whom we make our purchases have stopped giving us grocery items on credit due to increasing bills since past three months,” informed Association Secretary Luis.
Some employees are also reported to have taken gold loans for their survival and payment of monthly bills, but the Municipality has hardly shown any interest in making provision for paying their salaries, Luis claimed.
Meanwhile, Municipal Chairperson Romualdo Fernandes said that the council was unable to pay the salaries of workers due to paucity of funds.
The council is hard pressed for funds particularly due to non-payment of arrears by the municipal shop lessees. Though the lessees had assured payment of rent arrears running into several lakhs of rupees at regular intervals, the lessees have failed to keep their promise and this has resulted in shortage of funds.
Fernandes informed that it pains him very much to see his staff suffering due to non-payment of salaries. “I am working hard to raise funds to pay the pending salaries,” Fernandes said and requested the municipal shop lessees and others to pay their dues to the council at the earliest so as to enable the council to pay the staff salaries at least before Christmas festivities.
