US govt shutdown forces some overseas bases to stop paying workers

The longest US government shutdown on record is doing more than grind activities to a halt at home an ocean away in Europe local workers at US military bases have started to feel the painThousands of people working at overseas bases in Europe have had their salaries interrupted since the shutdown began almost six weeks ago In some cases governments hosting the US bases have stepped in to foot the bill expecting the United States to eventually make good In others including in Italy and Portugal people have simply kept working unpaid as the gridlock in Washington drags onIts an absurd situation because nobody has responses nobody feels responsible said Angelo Zaccaria a union coordinator at the Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy This is having dramatic effects on us Italian workers he told The Associated PressAn array of needed jobsThe jobs foreign nationals do at US bases around the world range from food service construction logistics maintenance and other more specialized roles In some cases foreign workers are employed by private companies contracted by the US government while others are direct hiresHow local employees are paid varies by country and is based on specific agreements the US government has with each host nation said Amber KellyHerard a public affairs spokesperson for the US Air Forces in Europe and Africa During the shutdown KellyHerard said local employees were expected to continue to perform their jobs in accordance with their work contractsThe AP reached out to the Pentagon with multiple questions on the pay disruption but was only provided a brief statement that did not acknowledge it We value the important contributions of our local national employees around the world it said The official declined to answer any followup questionsAmerican bases feeling the pinch overseasIn Germany the government has stepped in to pay the salaries of nearly 11000 local employees that work on US military bases the nations finance ministry said in a statement American facilities in Germany include the Ramstein Air Base a critical hub for operations in the Mideast and Africa and headquarters to the US Air Forces in Europe and AfricaWorkers in other countries have not been so fortunate More than 4600 Italian nationals work at the five US bases in Italy said union coordinator Zaccaria Of those about 2000 workers mostly at bases in Aviano and Vicenza were not paid in October Italys foreign ministry said SaturdayThe ministry said in a statement it had discussed the issue with US officials and that the US Army and Air Force were in talks with the Pentagon about using their own funds to pay the salaries of Italian workers There are workers struggling to pay their mortgages to support their children or even to pay the fuel to come to work Zaccaria saidIn Portugal a similar situation was playing out at the Lajes Field base in the Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean where more than 360 Portuguese workers have not been paid according to Paula Terra head of the Lajes base workers committeeTerra said unpaid staff are still turning up because furloughs arent legally recognized in a USPortugal agreement on the base Staying away could leave them open to disciplinary proceedings she added But this week the Azores Islands regional government approved a bank loan to pay the Portuguese workers at the base in the interim Terra said she was waiting to hear when workers could claim the moneyGermany is counting on being repaid once the shutdown ends the finance ministrys spokesperson told the AP adding that during previous shutdowns civilians were paid by the US government The governments of Poland Lithuania and Greenland did not respond to a request for comment from the AP about whether they too have also stepped in to pay local workersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever