The following was sent to BU’s inbox to create awareness about the plight of admin staff working at Barbados Consulates – Barbados Underground
Government opening consulates all over the place but the established ones haven’t had increases since 2010, everyone making the government mandated minimum wage from 2022 with the maid in New York being the highest paid employee since she is also the night cleaner making $4,000 monthly as night cleaner.
So her monthly pay is over $5,000. She has been night cleaner about 10 years. And the office supplies the cleaning supplies, she employs 2 people to work with her.
People in Canada, USA and London haven’t had salary increases since 2010 which were backdated to 2008, because government didn’t have money to cover the entire period 2000 to 2010. Staff turnover in Canada is very high because of the low wages and in New York the monthly salary is $2700 USD since 2008 and rents increasing annually and government opening missions and consulates all over the world.
The office maid in New York who doubles as a night cleaner and employs 2 staff members is paid $5,000 monthly for the night job and making the same salary as the admin assistants making her as she says the highest paid employee there. Also when there are any functions she and her staff attend like invited guests and are paid additional to clean up after. The office also provides the cleaning supplies which they use.
Her business is a domestic one yet she is doing commercial work also when they want the carpet shampooed and place cleaned they hire industrial cleaners to do that. The contract doesn’t get put out for annual bidding, management says they are the cheapest out there. She tells whoever comes up here that her daughter is a widow with 7 children and she has to help her with them. The daughter’s husband had a job and they were getting food stamps and assistance which was increased after his death
Last July when staff were given the state mandated hourly rate, it was realized that everyone including the maid would be making the same hourly wage and they said it would be rectified ASAP however to date nothing has been done.
Everyone is an Admin Assistant except the drivers and everyone is making the same money no matter how long you have been there. The people who were there over 20 years making the same money as the ones who started last August.
And out of our money we have to pay self employed taxes and social security as the job has no benefits. They provide mandatory health insurance. So they make $16.10 an hour.
Invest Barbados just hired an additional 2 consultants and the locally recruited staff in the jurisdictions can’t get raises! and saying that the maids and housekeepers making the same as the office staff is an anomaly that has to be looked at but it’s been 6 months since everyone making the same pay and 8 months since it was realized and nothing has been done. INVEST Barbados has an office here NYC but the consultants were hired in Barbados and the staff there complaining too.
Both governments have failed us.
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