Around 400 employees of Bujumbura municipality have staged a sit-in in front of the office of the mayor this Monday 1 April to claim their four-month salary.
Road sweepers demand their four-month salary
“Since December last year, we have not yet got our salary. Now, it is four months. How does the mayor office want us to live?” wonders M.N, a young woman in her thirties.
M.N says she does not understand how the government can remain indifferent while its employees are dying of hunger. “We already have a meagre wage. This means that nobody is able to make economies to survive during this period””.
Eugénie, 44 years old and mother of three, says her children have already been chased from school because of the lack of school fees.
She also says the delay of their salary affects their relationships with other people. “They consider us as crooks because we ask for loans hoping that we will pay them back after receiving our salary in vain”.
Apart from the big problem of the salary delay street sweepers denounce their working conditions.
H.L, says they don’t even know their monthly salary. “It is like a gift. The office of the mayor pays us when and how much it wants. I don’t even know my exact salary”.
N.C, says street sweepers are paid a small salary and are not treated well. “We are given BIF 2500 per day. When someone is 10 min late, they are sent back and won’t be paid for that day. We don’t have any medical insurance…”
After the discussion with the officials of the mayor office, they were told that they will be given a two-month salary tomorrow, April 2nd.
Those street sweepers are mainly made of widows. At the beginning, they were encouraged to gather into associations and were given the job so as to support their families.
IWACU Open Data
