PHILIPSBURG:--- Christmas will be 5 days away by the time this article appears in the media. The question is should we be paid before Christmas? I am sure that many reasons can be given as to why we should not be paid before Christmas. Someone saw this somewhere and forwarded it to me. It reads and I quote:” Blessed are those who spendeth their entire December salary in December for they shall knoweth the true meaning of endurance in January” end of quote. My personal opinion is that we should be paid before Christmas. We should know based on our budget whether we can buy any extra’s or gifts during the month of December or Christmas holidays. Important is that our essentials are taken care of such as a roof over our heads, utilities and food on the table. To be specific if you are renting please pay your rent first, if you have a mortgage please pay your mortgage first. We know that government pays their employees before Christmas. Banks also do the same. Some government employees and I think all bank employees are paid a bonus, I can be corrected on the latter. With reference to mortgages it would be a great Christmas gift if your December payment could be deferred until January, of course, they might have some financial consequences where the interest is concerned but that can be regulated by the institution. And how about including car loans and other private loans also? Maybe have us pay interest only. I think something of this nature was done after hurricane “Louis” again I stand to be corrected. It should not be the responsibility of the employer to tell us when and how to spend our hard earned money, it is up to us to be responsible and disciplined where this matter is concerned. Another reason why I think we should get paid before Christmas is because we will be able to (those who are earning a respectable income) spend our money in your business purchasing your merchandise. Of course, we can’t force an employer to pay before Christmas but neither do we want to hear you complain that things are bad and people are not buying. Employers also have budgets and know exactly what their expenditures are when it comes to salaries, therefore they cannot claim to be surprised as to what they owe in December for salaries. So if you want to increase revenues which can translate into profits for your business please pay before Christmas. As I mentioned before there can be many reasons given as to why we should not be paid before Christmas but I challenge this business that can to do so and reap the reward. Have a Merry Christmas
George Pantophlet
