The head of a union representing 3,200 V.I. government employees says its membership strongly opposes the 6 percent pay cut put forth by Gov. Charles Turnbull at the start of this week.
According to Amos Peters, local chapter president of the Seafarers International Union, the union has been left out of government discussions of the proposed across-the-board pay cut and has not had an opportunity to meet with the governor to discuss the matter.
As leader of the SIU, the largest government union in the territory, Peters said, he will do everything he can to thwart the plan.
Adding insult to the prospect economic injury to the workers, Peters told the V.I. Independent, is the revelation in recent days that high-ranking members of the Turnbull administration have been given hefty pay hikes. "It doesn't surprise me," he said.
Fiscal and economic adviser Rudolph Krigger Sr. and chief of staff Juel Molloy each got a $13,500 raise, bringing their salaries to $79,000. In addition, it was reported this week that Turnbull has approved more than $100,000 in raises for non-union Health and Human Services employees and four Tourism employees were granted hikes speculated by the Independent to total around $30,000.
