Government officials and employees in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas are facing the risk of a second payless payday this Friday.
More than 3,000 government employees missed receiving their pay for the first time on June the 18th and the Legislature rushed an appropriation to ensure the workers were eventually paid.
The Lieutenant Governor Eloy Inos says a two-million US dollar infusion from the Commonwealth Development Authority or other outside funding sources is needed to cover the wages this week.
Or correspondent, Mark Rabago, says there is an expectation austerity measures will be introduced to cut work hours from 80 to 70 hours to help solve the problem.
"Let's just look at it this way; we will continue to have this kind of problem unless austerity measures have been passed. There's just no way the government can be able to come up with so much money every pay day. And when there's no money to be drawn anywhere."
Mark Rabago.