Some Employees at U.S. Diplomatic Posts Earn Less Than $1 a Day
A new State Department report says some local employees hired by U.S. embassies and other posts around the world are so poorly paid they have to cut back to one meal a day or send their children to peddle on the streets. The report quotes some overseas employees as saying they make less than $1 a day.
The State Department has established a "working group" to better assess pay situations for locally employed staff.
The report from the department’s Office of the Inspector General looked at how the U.S. pays more than 51,000 local, non-American employees in about 170 missions. The low pay causes these workers severe hardship and in some cases makes it difficult for the U.S. embassies to find qualified employees to fill positions. “Twenty-seven missions presented compelling arguments that their lower-grade employees fall short of minimal living standards,” the report said.
The report blamed an overwhelmed and inadequately staffed employment office in Washington, D.C. for the inability to make needed changes to pay levels and to keep up with events overseas like inflation.
"These arguments included accounts of LE [locally employed] staff: removing children from school, cutting back to one meal a day, sending children to sell water or little cakes or toiletries on the streets … employees depending on salary advances and defaulting on loans in order to cover basic expenses … [pay]grades 1 to 3 earning less than $1.00 per day."
“About 25 percent of missions noted reduced productivity and lower efficiency as a result of inadequate compensation,” the report said. “Also, 32 percent of missions reported LE [local employees] staff taking second jobs to cover their expenses.”
