Census taker gets $411.40 for pay

A census taker got the shock of her life after discovering that she has been paid a measly 411.40 by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), the entity responsible for the collection of data for the Population and Housing Census.

The census taker, Tennesha Rankin-Phillips, said she completed more than 150 interviews on Homestead Road in Kingston, where she was assigned, and submitted the necessary documents to STATIN. However, she was left dumbfounded when she received her pay advice which indicated the total payment of $600, which was reduced to $411.40 when taxes were deducted.

The pay she received is unacceptable in her eyes. She believes the results she provided were more than acceptable and it is downright outrageous for her to be collecting such a pay.

"Nothing mi nah hear from nobody, and mi cah just work and mek this go down the drain suh. Mi have back-to-school right 'round the corner," the 43-year-old Kingston resident told THE STAR.

Attempts to contact STATIN for comment on the issue proved futile up to press time yesterday. However, the entity's website provided some insight on how census takers are paid. The website said that payment is made based on "the number of completed questionnaires".

"This means that for each completed questionnaire (household and individual), the census taker will receive a per questionnaire rate. The rate for each type of questionnaire is different and the payment is not automatic. All completed questionnaires will be subjected to quality and verification checks before payment is authorised," the website said.

Rankin-Phillips said she carried out more than 150 interviews over a one-month period. She said that she has sought answers about the seeming misalignment between her compensation and the work done, but none has been forthcoming. She said no one expressed any concern about the quality of the questionnaires that were completed.

"Mi go up a Half-Way Tree, nuh response! Me go downtown, no response! ... Mi affi come fi it publish so them can see, and mi can get some pay," Rankin-Phillips said.