Change in day of payroll release prompts talks of salary delays

For nearly a month now, Saipan Tribune has been receiving close to 20 calls and emails from personnel at the hospital about salary delays, stating that the issue is beginning to be a problem.

Callers range from anonymous callers and friends of Commonwealth Health Center staff, to hospital staff and nurses themselves—all asking for the media’s help by publishing their plight.

One caller said that he didn’t get paid on Friday last week. According to him, he also did not get any payment from the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. last Friday.

An email from a hospital personnel said that he did not get paid until Monday, Sept. 8.

“It is a fact that a number of employees went to Bank of Hawaii and First Hawaiian Bank before the banks closed at 6pm on Friday and were told that they don’t have a paycheck,” the email stated.

Saipan Tribune also received several hospital staff calls and emails, also claiming that they didn’t get paid.

Employees at CHCC regularly get paid on Wednesdays if their accounts are with Bank of Guam and Thursdays if their accounts are with Bank of Hawaii.

Another source told Saipan Tribune that Women, Infant, and Children’s Clinic employees have also experienced delays in their salaries, “even though hospital staff got paid last month.”

CHCC chief executive officer Esther Muña clarified that CHCC paydays have always been Fridays.

“This was not changed. At times, however, we would submit our request to charge our accounts for payroll early, even pay as early as Monday when there’s a holiday in the week,” Muña told Saipan Tribune.

Muña said they have advised corporate officers on Thursday that they would be processing payday on Friday and that staff should not worry.

“We are also considering maintaining a Friday payday from hereon as there seems to be confusion when payday should be and as shown in the many assumptions that we delayed payday. Again, payday was not delayed. It was finally done on the appropriate day,” Muña said.

According to BoH, First Hawaiian Bank, and BoG, processing of payments getting transferred to individual accounts are based on the corporation or organization sending money in on time for the final closing; in this case, BoH, transferring funds closes in the afternoon, and account holders will receive the funds within one or two working days after the transfer.