Over 100 employees of the Freetown City Council (FCC) yesterday put up a noisy demonstration in the compound of the Council demanding payment of six months of salary backlogs. The FCC has failed to pay more than 600 workers their monthly wages for the past half-year.
The protest erupted after a morning meeting yesterday, in which council officials were summoned to discuss the issue of workers’ salaries. The meeting ended in a stalemate as most of the resolutions put forward did not go down well with a considerable number of council workers.
Council’s works were temporarily stalled as workers who had already set off for duties returned to join in the demonstration.
The Council’s entrance was crammed with the demonstrators, refusing entry of the council’s clients. Metropolitan Police personnel conspicuous in their uniforms were amongst their co-workers chanting corruption related slogans and demanding to see President Koroma to put across their grievances. It was the swift appearance of the Sierra Leone Police that helped calm the nerves of the demonstrators.
Saidu Bangura, a market dues collector, said he has gone without pay for 18 months, adding that he has barely been scrapping to feed his family. “Life has been very tough for me and my family. We all depend on the meager salary I take home every end of month. The absence of that for 18 months now has made life very precarious for all of us,” Mr. Bangura stated.
Bangura added that the situation has had serious consequences on his role as head of the family. “There’s no peace now in my house,” Bangura lamented.
An old woman street sweeper of FCC explained how her grandson was driven from school for not paying the Le 40, 000 (forty thousand Leones).
“My grandson has not been going to school for the three weeks because I can pay his fees. I have now lost all hopes of him return to school with what is happening now,” the old woman lamented.
A number of demonstrators who spoke to Awoko expressed similar sentiments.
Public Relations Officer Cyril Mattia could not comment on the situation as according him, he was out of station.
However, the Acting Chief Administrator at the FCC, John Conteh told Awoko that the situation was “unfortunate for council’s development.”
He disclosed that government has promised a bail out scheme for the FCC to enable it pay the five months salaries it owes its workers.
The FCC owes a total of Le 2 Billion (two Billion Leones) in salary arrears. Mr. Conteh could not give any definitive date as to when the salary payments would be effected. What he disclosed however was that FCC will pay the workers their January salary.
He said he is not aware of any worker who is owed over a year. “Council has workers who are on contract and are not permanent staff of the FCC,” Mr. Conteh noted, but disclosed that the FCC is indebted not only to its workers, but to contractors, banks through overdrafts etc.
He appealed to the demonstrating workers to exercise patience while they await government’s action.
By Poindexter Sama
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