Several staffers of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) are calling for the President’s intervention to resolve long standing complaints about working conditions and outstanding severance pay.Several Artificial Inseminations (AI) technicians who work at the Mon Repos office and in the various regions are said to be affected.While Kaieteur News could not immediately make contact with the Chief Executive Officer, Dindyal Permaul, several staffers claimed that that more than 18 months after they were taken on by the GLDA, they are still to collect severance pay from the National Dairy Development Programme, the predecessor of GLDA. The staffers were afraid to speak out,Wholesale NHL Jerseys 2020, citing possible discrimination.“Every time we raise this issue, they keep telling us it is by this department or the Ministry of Finance. We are scared to even ask about it. Bringing it to the newspaper is the only way we can get some action.”GLDA is the body established to regulate and increase exports of the country’s fledging livestock industry. It was launched last year January at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.Several departments, including Animal Services, NDDP and the Livestock Division, were all merged to form the GLDA.The workers claimed that they were told that they would be paid their severance with the closure of NDDP. A majority of the staff were rehired by GLDA.Some had been working at the NDDP for as long as 20 years, when it was under the direction of Dr. Steve Surujbally.Several allowances, including telephone and travelling allowances,Cheap China Jerseys, were also slashed, the workers said.“Many people got to use their own money to travel and they asking the people to have a phone and always be available to be contacted but they not giving them phone allowance. There are people who on the road every day working with farmers. You tell me how they gun do their job properly if you don’t equip them properly?”The establishment of GLDA was in keeping with Guyana’s Agricultural Export and Diversification Programme.The country has signed a loan with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to increase Guyana’s livestock exports, stabilizing both local and foreign markets at the same time.According to the complaining staffers,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, in 2010 they had met with an IDB consultant who was helping with the establishment of the GLDA.“He tell we that the GLDA would be taking us on and paying us more in keeping with the work we do,Wholesale NFL Jerseys,” one angry technician said yesterday.However,Cheap Jerseys Online, the workers were rehired by GLDA and many of them still receive the same pay.“When dem big boys travel, they walking with hundreds of thousands of dollars…and they starving us from resources for doing the job for the country.”The employees claimed, also, that they were made a sign the new contract with much chance for negotiations.“Dem basically call us and tell us this is the new contract and we had to agree.”The signing was done following meetings with the former Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud.“We don’t know if they get the money from IDB to increase our salaries and dem not paying us.We have to work and we scared to talk.”Kaieteur News called GLDA’s office and left messages for Permaul,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, the CEO, but the calls were not returned.More than 30 staffers would have been transferred from NDDP to GLDA, the newspaper was told.