LEN workers fatigued.

UNCERTAINTIES SWIRLING AROUND THE EMBATTLED LINDEN ENTERPRISE NETWORK (LEN) now stare its employees squarely in the face. 

“It’s never a good feeling about being unsure of what tomorrow will bring,” one dejected employee explained. 

“Some people are in the process of losing their families. No one wants to stay with someone who is incapable of taking care of her/him. And, besides, with all the stress here, many of us are unable to remove it by the time we get home, So, you find that many of us are experiencing family-related challenges,” the LEN worker said. 

Since the coalition A Partnership For National Unity, Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) was unseated following last year’s bitterly-contested and highly controversial polls, LEN has been in limbo with no clear public financial strategy outlined as yet by the ruling Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration.

Rumours are circulating in the Linden bauxite-mining community of plans by the government to reconstitute LENS to circumvent financial responsibilities to current staff members and they are worried by this alleged backdoor exit plan.

Some reached by this media house confessed deep worry about their financial futures and that of their families, if LEN administrators remain mum about their concerns and gossips about alleged plans by the Irfaan Ally administration to legislate the entity out of existence.  

They admit being uneasy, worried and depressed about the potential reality of being unable to take care of their families while the government remains gagged on its intended systems and imminent actions for the financial institution.

“The reality is that this month, July, we may be unable to secure a salary as daily efforts of the officers to retrieve outstanding monies owed (by clients) are drastically reducing more and more. There are three officers tasked with going out and collecting monies owed, but it seems that they are unable to get the monies. They go out there as more and more people are crying that things are woefully bad,” a worker speaking on strict confidentiality said. 

LEN has some 20 employees and has been operating without a functioning Board of Directors since August 2020. 

“You have people coming to work every day not knowing what to expect. The truth is that every day when I leave here (work) to go home, I do so with tears in my eyes as I anticipate the next day, I will be told that LEN has closed because we the employees are under immense pressure. For some strange reason the CEO, Ms. Tannizia Gasper doesn’t seem affected and/or bothered and this is really worrying,” another employee noted. 

“It’s only about three people here that don’t have these amounts of responsibilities, but trust me the majority of us have responsibilities up to our noses, and, with this stress, don’t be surprised if people get frustrated…and get sick because this is worse than torture. Mentally, emotionally and psychologically we are finding it unbearable,” an employee admitted.

The unbearableness is intensifying because they are uncertain about receiving July’s salary as a result of accumulated financial mismanagement of the institution. Some have started looking for new employment but that is in short supply in the depressed bauxite-mining Linden municipality.

“It’s known by now that Linden doesn’t have jobs, and while the government is talking about creating employment, new job opportunities will not happen in the next three months. We need employment ASAP. I rather get a smaller salary and know that there is job security, than working and not sure,” one of the affected workers said.

Another said, “at least the Board Secretary (Apostle Valerie Adams–Yearwood) should say something because she knows what we are experiencing. You can’t stay quiet and expect us to know what is going on, please tell us something so that we can know where we stand.” 

Adams-Yearwood could not be reached for comment.