End of Month and Still no Pay for C.G.A. Employees
The month of October has come to an end and there is still no pay in sight for employees of the Citrus Growers Association. For the past several weeks, members of the administrative staff have not received their bimonthly salaries and bills are mounting up at home and at work. It’s an unfortunate situation that has befallen these workers, several of them who have been with the association for the past fourteen years. While outspoken C.G.A. member Anthony Chanona took it upon himself to prepare a document proposing a way forward for the embattled citrus industry, the plight of the C.G.A. employees brings home the dire need for financial restructuring.
On the Phone: Anthony Chanona, Member, Citrus Growers Association
“I remember recently, following the prime minister’s meeting, I felt that I had a moral obligation to act or try to do something. I formulated a plan of action and submitted that to the CGA and basically it had three Rs. R for reality check, what is the extent of the CGA’s debt? The restructuring and the reunification, but those are the core issues affecting the CGA. Unfortunately, since that paper was submitted I have not heard back from the CGA as to what plan of action they might be planning, but certainly there has not been a plan of action and I am not prepared to meet with a committee to discuss committee matters, this has gone past that stage. And I am saddened to learn that there are certain members of staff, the nuts and the bolts of the Citrus Growers Association. Our faithful employees are not being paid and they have no fault in this situation. They are not part of the demise, they have done their part and they need to be paid. And so, quite frankly, I think the CGA has to act, I think Mr. Cleland, the C.E.O., needs to address the press on this issue, but the CGA needs to act. We have shares in CPBL, we have land, we need to liquidate some of these assets and we need to pay our staff. That is the major priority that needs urgent attention. It is not fair to our members of staff who have faithfully provided our services all these years for not being paid these past three months. That’s not fair.”
