A major pay cut being implemented at the College of the Marshall Islands is alarming Marshallese staff, who this week appealed the salary slashes to the College President Carl Hacker.
Eleven Marshallese staff members are affected by the cutback that will slash take home pay by up to 60 percent.
Workers say they are angered not only by the college plan to slash salaries without any type of transition to the significantly reduced wages, but also by the lack of personal communication to workers who, in some cases, have been with the college for 20 years.
The salary reductions affecting secretarial, custodial and security staff members, are to take effect when existing contracts expire.
Under the cutbacks one long time employee who is now paid 27 thousand 500 US dollars a year would lose nearly 9 thousand dollars and a secretary earning close to 14 thousand will be reduced to less than 9 thousand.
The Marshall Islands government has demanded the college bring its administrative staff salaries into line with the government salary structure.
