35 SSA workers fired

Thirty-five employees of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) yesterday received retrenchment notices as part of its restructuring. The restructuring exercise is expected to be completed at the end of the month. The employees were given separation packages as part of the second phase.

During the first phase, 17 employees were sent home. More are also earmarked to be terminated in, what has been described as, an attempt to trim the fat at the agency.

“The restructuring of the agency was undertaken after the proclamation of the SSA Act 2016, which expanded the mandate of the agency from intelligence-gathering in the fight against drug trafficking to include that of serious crime,” a release from the SSA said yesterday.

The SSA also said the restructuring was done in a fair and transparent manner, with all staff being subjected to robust security screening and an evaluation process to determine their suitability to continue as part of the organisation. During phase one, 17 employees were asked to undergo polygraph testing after which they were told to resign and re-apply for their jobs. They were not informed of the results of the polygraph tests.

One said he was told there was a belief the 17 employees appeared not to be totally committed to the SSA and Government. The terminated employees said the organisation was being used as a political tool and only those who were favoured by some of the directors had been promised security of tenure. Another affected worker said some of his colleagues, who were not favoured by SSA directors, reported for work but were given nothing to do.

They are also claiming they are yet to receive back-pay and other benefits. The SSA is under the stewardship of Col George Robinson who could not be reached for comment yesterday.