Street sweepers on the payroll of the Ekiti State Government have protested poor monthly remuneration offered by the state government.
They lamented that the N5,000 monthly stipends being paid by the government could no longer sustain them under the present economic situation.
The protesting workers yesterday demanded the immediate implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage for members in tandem with the current economic realities of the country.
The protesting sweepers carried placards with various inscriptions: ‘Stop Paying Lip Service to Our Plights’, ‘N30,000 is the acceptable Minimum Wage By Law’, ‘Governor Kayode Fayemi, Please Come to our Rescue’, ‘N5,000 is not acceptable Again’, ‘Our Wage Can’t Take Us Home, We Want Living Wage’, among others.
Speaking with newsmen at Fajuyi Park, Mrs Titilayo Faweya, said they were compelled to undertake the protest to demand for what is right and just for their members.
Faweya added that they acted based on the promise made by Governor Kayode Fayemi in 2018 while seeking re-election that he would increase their monthly take home.
“We are not fighting Governor Kayode Fayemi or disgracing his government, but we are confronted with the reality and we have to act to prevent us from dying in silence.
“We are collecting a sum of N5,000 monthly, when a Congo (Mudu) of garri is N700 and that of rice is N1,000. How can we cope with these terrible situations? Many of us are widows,” she said
Another protester, Mrs Nike Alatise, revealed that they started the street sweeping job in 2003 with a monthly salary of N2,500 before it was increased to N5,000.
“Many of us have spent close to 20 years on this job. When Governor Fayemi was campaigning, he promised that he would look into our welfare. Some of us are widows, some are living in rented apartments. How do we survive with this paltry amount?” she queried
The Commissioner for Environment, Barr. Iyabo Fakunle Okiemen, said all the demands of the protesting workers have been noted for onward delivery to Governor Fayemi.
“I have met with them. We have addressed them and got all their demands, so that I can take them to Governor Fayemi for necessary action,” she stated
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