TURA: Following the revelation by GHADC CEM, Dipul R Marak in the media that only two months’ employees’ salary would be released before Christmas, many of the employees have expressed unhappiness that the meager amount would not even be enough to clear debts incurred by them leave alone suffice to tide them over the festive season.
The CEM on Wednesday confirmed that only two months’ salary would be released to the employees while at the same time informing that it was making efforts to pay an additional month’s salary.
An employee in the Council’s Forest Department said that all this while debts had accumulated in his effort to run the family without salary and the release of a mere two months’ salary would not make much difference.
“I have been burrowing from every source I can find to maintain my family. Just this month, I was lucky enough to be able to borrow from a women’s self help group which ensured me to clear my daughter’s school fees for the whole academic year and prevent her result from getting withheld. I do not know when I can pay the amount back. I just hope the amount doesn’t double in interests by the time I am able to do so,” the employee said.
Another employee in the Taxation department whose daughter’s marriage is coming up next year is also in a dilemma over where to find the money to finance the event. According to the employee while there is some money saved up, the many months of going without salary has forced the family to dig into the savings from time to time.
The financial crisis has also led to some others having to sell off family assets like vehicles just to get their hands on some spending money for the family.
Such is the case of many others from among the over two thousand employees of the GHADC who have only just managed to muddle through the crisis. Other than those households that have other earning members from other sources, families that depend on a single family member working in the GHADC have all this while been forced to make ends meet by borrowing from all the sources they can find.
Meanwhile, the GHADC has announced that it is making efforts to generate revenue by auctioning off timber from its forest reserves to pay the salary of its employees. However, that too has its hurdles as the same is being opposed by organizations like the A’chik Holistic Awakening Movement (AHAM), A’chik Youth Council (AYC) and others.
Going by the current situation, it is unlikely that the GHADC will be able to clear the salaries of its employees at one go anytime soon. For the time being, the only option for the employees is to look for more sources to borrow from and hope to make it through till the crisis ends. However, that too will not last forever as all sources will run out eventually.