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Busia road construction workers protest nonpayment for four months
Some road construction workers at Busia municipal offices, where they camped on Saturday over nonpayment of their allowances for four months. PHOTO | DAVID AWORI
What you need to know:
- Mr Peter Okitui, one of the workers, said their daily work involved drenching of drainage channels, slashing and doing minor maintenance of roads within the municipality, but have gone without pay for four months.
Busia road construction workers have laid down their tools and camped at the municipal offices over nonpayment of their allowances since the beginning of the year.
Mr Peter Okitui, one of the workers, said their daily work involved drenching of drainage channels, slashing and doing minor maintenance of roads within the municipality, but have gone without pay for four months.
“We earn Shs200,000 every month, but have gone without payment for four months,” Mr Okitui said on Saturday, adding that the overalls and gumboots provided to them by municipal council authorities two years ago have become worn out.
“We have no gumboots and gloves, while our overalls are torn which exposes us to contracting diseases.”
Mr Doris Nambuya, another worker, said because of nonpayment, they were having challenges providing basics for their families.
“I use this money to pay rent, buy food for my children and pay school fees, but since January, I have struggled to meet my responsibilities.”
The deputy town clerk of Busia municipality, Mr Johnson Wafuba, confirmed that there has been a delay in remitting the allowances for the road construction workers. He noted that the delay was due to the road funds being delayed for remittance.
Mr Wafuba, however, assured that the authority had received the funds, authorized payments for all the workers, and encouraged them to call off the strike, saying that the money would be deposited into their respective accounts soon.
