Workers at Lajes Air Base will not receive the wages that would have been paid on Monday. The US command has already given official confirmation, and the pay slips, to which workers have already had access, confirm that wages will be zero.

“The end of the month is approaching. There are cases where both husband and wife work at the base, and in this case, no money is coming into the household. There are single-parent families. And of course, people are worried, not knowing how they are going to manage their lives. Some people are already distressed,” said Paula Terra, president of the Lajes Base Workers’ Representative Committee (CRT), in statements to DI yesterday.

The last fortnight was paid on October 17, but with a pay cut. From October 1 to 4, the equivalent of 24 hours’ pay was deducted due to the US government shutdown because the budget had not been approved.

The next payment was due on the 27th, but not even the travel and food allowances that workers initially expected to receive will be paid.

No one has any guarantees as to when this situation will be resolved. The US command claims that it cannot do anything until the budget is approved.

The workers are calling on the Portuguese government to follow Germany’s example and proceed with payments while the situation in the United States remains unresolved.

“That is what we are demanding, that the Government of the Republic advance the workers’ salaries, just as they are doing in Germany. In Germany, workers know that there are no approved funds, but the government has already guaranteed that it will cover these salaries for as long as necessary,” appealed Paula Terra.

Even without receiving any pay, not even travel allowances, workers continue to report for duty every day at Lajes Air Base.

“We have to go to work every day. It’s a recommendation, because even though they are in default, if workers don’t show up for work, they may be subject to disciplinary measures,” explained the CRT president.

In the United States, wage suspensions allow workers to stay home, but this is not provided for in the regulations of Lajes Air Base, which provide for dismissal if workers do not show up at the workplace for three days.

“Sometimes they apply what is in the regulations, other times they apply American law. We are in a very gray area,” Paula Terra pointed out.

According to the CRT president, the US command has already admitted that this situation is illegal, but without funds, it cannot reverse it.

“We have been in contact with all the entities involved in these conflict resolution processes at Lajes Air Base and they all say that the situation is being treated with the utmost urgency at the diplomatic level, but the workers need immediate answers,” she appealed.

In Diário Insular-José Lourenço-direcotr

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.