EOJ starts paying election day workers
THE Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has commenced payments to election day workers for the September 3 General Election.
According to the EOJ, text messages have been sent to the workers, as well as reference numbers, to enable them to collect their payments through Western Union (indoor agents), JN Bank (presiding officers), and Victoria Mutual Building Society (poll clerks and sanitation clerks).
Director of Elections Glasspole Brown confirmed that the messages had been sent to the workers on Thursday and funds should be available to them by yesterday morning.
“If they haven’t yet received the payment they can go to local constituency office to find out where to go to pick up their money,” he said.
Brown noted that they will need proper identification to complete the process and, therefore, should also take with them their identification and the reference number which is included in the message.
Although the total cost of employing the workers has not been disclosed by the EOJ, the director has explained that it takes up a considerable portion of the $1.5-billion election budget.
The EOJ move comes after the workers raised the issue of their non-payment and several queries about the delay in the local media.
Last week, the EOJ confirmed that it had commenced processing payments for the more than 60,000 workers, including presiding officers, poll clerks, supervisors, polling station security assistants, indoor agents, property managers, haulage contractors, handymen, as well as about 7,000 sanitation clerks and cleaning attendants who were employed to execute the COVID-19 protocols.
Brown said that the EOJ is grateful to the many Jamaicans who came on board in making the general election a success.
— Balford Henry