(Madrid) The longest paralysis of the American administration on record has repercussions far beyond the simple cessation of activities in the United States. Across the ocean, in Europe, local employees of American military bases are also beginning to suffer the consequences.
Since the shutdown began nearly six weeks ago, thousands of people working on U.S. military bases overseas have had their pay interrupted.
In some cases, host country governments have covered salaries, hoping that the United States will eventually resolve the situation. However, in other situations, notably in Italy and Portugal, workers simply continue to work on a voluntary basis in the face of continued impasse in Washington.
“It’s an absurd situation, because no one has a solution, no one feels responsible,” lamented Angelo Zaccaria, union coordinator at Aviano air base, in northeastern Italy. This has dramatic consequences for us, Italian workers. »
The jobs held by foreign nationals on American bases around the world are varied: catering, construction, logistics, maintenance and other more specialized functions.
In some cases, foreign workers are employed by private companies under contract with the U.S. government, while others are hired directly.
Compensation for local employees varies by country and is based on specific agreements between the U.S. government and each host country, said Amber Kelly-Herard, a spokeswoman for U.S. Air Forces Europe and Africa.
During the closure of federal services, Mme Kelly-Herard said local employees were required to continue to perform their duties in accordance with their employment contracts.
The AP contacted the Pentagon several times for information about the payment disruption, but received only a brief statement that made no mention of it.
“We value the essential contributions of our local national employees across the world,” the statement read. The official declined to answer any additional questions.
PHOTO CRISTINA QUICLER, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
A US Air Force C-5 Galaxy takes off from the Spanish-American Joint Use Air Base in Moron, southern Spain, in September 2001.
American bases abroad in difficulty
In Germany, the government intervened to cover the salaries of nearly 11,000 civilian employees working on American military bases, the Ministry of Finance announced in a press release.
U.S. installations in Germany include Ramstein Air Base, a critical hub for operations in the Middle East and Africa, and Headquarters U.S. Air Forces Europe and Africa.
Workers in other countries have not been so lucky.
More than 4,600 Italian nationals work on the five American bases in Italy, said Mr. Zaccaria. Among them, around 2,000 workers, mainly at the Aviano and Vicenza bases, were not paid in October, the Italian Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday.
The ministry said in a statement that it had raised the issue with US authorities 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.
“Some workers are struggling to repay their mortgage, provide for their children, or even pay for gas to come to work,” denounced Mr. Zaccaria.
In Portugal, a similar situation was unfolding at the Lajes base, in the Azores archipelago, in the Atlantic Sea, where more than 360 Portuguese workers had not been paid, according to Paula Terra, president of the base employees’ committee.
Mme Terra explained that these unpaid employees continued to report to work because unpaid leave is not legally recognized under the U.S.-Portuguese base agreement. Absence could expose them to disciplinary proceedings, she added.
This week, however, the Azores regional government approved a bank loan to temporarily pay Portuguese employees at the base. Mme Terra said he was waiting to hear when workers could withdraw their money.
Germany is counting on reimbursement once the paralysis of federal services is lifted, the Finance Ministry spokesperson told the AP, adding that during previous paralysis, civilians had been paid by the US government.
The governments of Poland, Lithuania and Greenland did not respond to the AP’s request for comment regarding possible intervention on their part to pay local workers.
The most vulnerable at risk
Linda Bilmes, a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and an expert in public finance, explained that local workers on U.S. military bases who work as contractors are typically at the greatest risk of losing their pay during a U.S. government shutdown.
She added that, in the past, the U.S. government has always reimbursed its full-time employees, including those working at overseas locations and who may be foreign nationals.
On the other hand, contract workers are not always covered, which explains why some include additional costs in their contracts in order to compensate for possible interruptions in public funding.
“But I doubt anyone anticipated such a long delay,” Professor Bilmes said.
In Spain, where the United States operates the Morón and Rota military bases in the south of the country, a union representing more than 1,000 Spanish workers said a late payment was resolved last month thanks to intervention by the Spanish government.
The Spanish Defense Ministry has not responded to numerous requests for confirmation of its involvement in resolving this payroll issue.
