Talisay City government hit over employees’ salary

CEBU, Philippines - The Talisay City government has been criticized on the management of the release of job order salaries at the cash division office.

In a letter to The Freeman, Erick Auza, Ad Hoc District Chairman of Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines and President, Sustainability Initiatives, Inc. expressed his dismay over Mayor Johnny de los Reyes and the administrator of the city for the inefficiency in the disbursement of salaries for job order workers.

“I want to bring this matter to the incumbent local chief executive and also to the administrator in the City of Talisay. It seems that the city has not found an efficient way of disbursing and releasing the salary of the Job Order workers. Every pay day, the same system is implemented,” stated in Auza’s letter.

Auza said the job orders are forced to cramp on a narrow hallway of the building which lines stretch to the stairs down the lower floor.

“The victims mostly of this system are the women. They are forced to compete with the men in the lines. They suffer from the unnecessary “pokes” and pushes,” he said.

Auza recalled how a 67- year old job order employee died while claiming his salary last month.

Agripino Oyua, a garbage collector, was one of at least 1,500 job order employees who lined up at the cash division to claim their salaries.

“The Job Orders should not also be considered as lower class workers as what they are being treated in the City Hall of Talisay,” he said.

In a separate interview with The Freeman, de los Reyes’ information officer, Vince Monterde,  said that even with the previous administration, all the job order employees trooped to the city hall for their salaries.

Monterde said that there are only three pay masters at the cash division.

“The PIO office is helping the job orders nga mapasayon ang ilang linya apan tungod sa kadaghan nga gustong ma-una mao nga magubot gyud (The PIO is helping the job orders, that the process would be made easier but then conflicts arise because most of them want to go first,” Monterde said.

Monterde said the mayor is now for looking other means to have a more efficient way of disbursing the salary to the employees.— /ATO (FREEMAN)