Previous Story
Tudela: Scrap cuts in govt work hours
|
Posted on Oct 29 2008
Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela has asked lawmakers to reject the Senate’s proposal to implement unpaid legal holidays and austerity Fridays as means to cut government spending.
Tudela, in a letter to House Ways and Means Committee chair Victor Hocog, said that both cost-cutting measures have a direct impact on the quality of service provided to the community, as well as to the employees’ day-to-day livelihood.
“As everyone knows, reduction of work hours means reduction of service to our community,” he said. “[And] if the unpaid and austerity holidays are implemented… you are taking food off the table of a family that is already coping with financial hardship.”
Tudela also said that agencies should be able to operate on their funding level without subjecting the employees to pay cuts. “We strongly believe that with the proposed funding level for each agency, the expenditure authorities, as well as the program managers, can find ways to live within their means and ensure that their programs are continued and not hampered in any way,” he said.
The House of Representatives has rejected the Senate-passed version of the fiscal year 2009 budget. A conference committee made up of Senate and House members has been formed to reconcile the differences between both houses.
