As reported in Samoa News yesterday, Chairman/Interim CEO of the American Samoa Tele Communications Authority, Hon. Pulelei’ite Li'a Tufele Jr. has sent letters to more than 10 ASTCA employees notifying them to hand over their duties to appointed successors and start the process of retirement.

The news has spread like wildfire in the territory and has raised many eyebrows within the community.

Numerous efforts by Samoa News to contact Pulelei’ite over the past week for comments have been unsuccessful. Each time we called to request to speak to Pulelei'ite, the person on the other end of the line would hang up the phone without saying a word.

Samoa News then sought comments from an ASTCA board member who spoke to us on condition of anonymity and indicated that the Board has never met to discuss this issue — early retirements, reassignments, etc.

Samoa News should point out that people who received a letter said it was signed by Chairman/Interim CEO of ASTCA Pulelei’ite, and is addressed specifically to them. The copy of the letter Samoa News obtained is of like nature.

(For our readers who picked up the hard copy of Samoa News yesterday, the following is the original story that wasn't published in its entirety. We apologize for the mishap).

“This is official notification to inform you that our records indicate that you have reached the years of service to qualify for retirement as per our local statues,” begins one of the letters, signed by the Chairman/Interim CEO of the American Samoa Tele Communications Authority, Hon. Pulelei’ite Li'a Tufele Jr., in what more than 10 ASTCA employees say are letters notifying them to hand over their duties to appointed successors and start the process of retirement.

Samoa News was able to get a copy of one of the letters on the condition of anonymity, as many ASTCA employees have obtained counsel upon receiving similar notifications.

According to several ASTCA employees, the letters vary in content, but are common in their push to remove the individuals from their current positions — either forcing retirement or in other cases re-assigning the worker to another area — whether they want it or not. In some cases, this is forcing them to consider resignation.

Ironically, the letter Samoa News obtained, tells the employee that ASTCA “is interested in learning about your experience with ASTCA, in order to obtain information, which may help in our efforts to improve the work environment. The department of Human Resources conducts an exit interview with departing employees for this purpose.”

The letter notes, “Contact the HR office in regards to final payment process.”

Samoa News has been told by several ASTCA employees, who received such letters, that some have been given 60 days, while others are notified that their contracts are to be terminated in June 2017, but they will be compensated up to the official end of contract time.

However, some of the early termination contract workers say there have been no details given to them about how their payout will be handled, and when they approached the supervisor of the HR Department, they were told that no word has been given to HR on how to handle early contract termination or early retirement payouts.

Another employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, has 3 more years to go before reaching 55 years of age, which would make them eligible for retirement. The individual received an early retirement notification or letter, but the employee says they returned the letter to management because they do not want to retire before retirement age as it will affect their benefits in the long run. It’s unknown at this time, if the employee is being forced to resign, as no answer has been forthcoming from ASTCA management.

Other ASTCA employees are worried about being forced into early retirement when they haven’t worked enough years for full retirement benefits. For example, some employees, who received letters are aged 60 years or more, and have only worked at ASTCA for 13 years.

ASTCA employees, who spoke to Samoa News, alleging they received such letters, said their ASTCA phones have been disconnected without notification. In fact one of them left their number with Samoa News, but called back on a Bluesky Communications number to tell us their phone was no longer connected.

Most of the ASTCA employees who are being forced to retire or reassigned and if not resign, say they are particularly angry at the way they are being notified, and allege new contracts are being signed for insiders such as Chuck Leota, whose company, Tech-Connect, has been hired to do ASTCA pre-paid sales and card collections. Leota is alleged to have a 6-month contract with ASTCA as a consultant.

Efforts to try and get a hold of Pulelei’ite for comment were unsuccessful, as of press time.

Samoa News should point out that the forced reassignments and retirements seem to be all part of the Interim CEO’s move to change the direction of ASTCA, which in recent years has suffered heavy financial losses — what was once the cash cow of the government, actually lending money to  past administrations when needed.

Again, many of the ASTCA employees, who received notification are questioning the manner in which they are being treated. For example, they point to the way in which the previous CEO, Alex Sene, Jr. was ‘reassigned’ by the Board. They allege the Board did so via email, without the common courtesy of a face-to-face meeting with the longtime employee of ASTCA, and further they not only reassigned him, but noted that he should ‘teach’ his successor the ropes for ease of transition. Samoa News understands Sene, Jr. is still off-island and has not assumed the role of Chief Technical Officer, which was his new assignment according to Pulelei’ite in May.

BACKGROUND

In the meantime, the former CEO of Bluesky Communications, Aoe’e Adolfo Montenegro, being hired as an ASG Consultant for the Governor’s Office and for the government owned American Samoa TeleCommunications Authority (ASTCA), is still unconfirmed, despite a telephone interview with American Samoa Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga by the Samoa Observer in May this year.

Gov. Lolo reportedly told the Samoa Observer that Aoe’e will be working at the Governor’s Office and given his vast knowledge in the field of communications, his arrival is timely. “He’s to help improve ASTCA, but the contract has yet to be signed given that he’s currently off island,” said Lolo. 

The Governor pointed out the government has shares in the American Samoa Hawaii (ASH) Cable and wants to develop those shares.  He did not go into details, but noted that Aoe’e is the one to do that. 

Samoa News has also been told, but currently unable to confirm, that Aoe’e’s company also has a contract with the Federated States of Micronesia Cable/Telecom, as a consultant, with the possibility of Aoe’e being hired as CEO of the FSM entity.

Leua Aiono Frost, Lali reporter contributed to this story.