Scores of women employed as street sweepers in Akure, the Ondo State capital, have protested the non-payment of their stipends for four months.
The women, among whom are widows, marched to the state’s Ministry of Environment, where they expressed their grievances and threatened to down tools if not paid.
The protesters lamented the “shabby” treatment being melted on them by the management of the ZL Global Alliances, a private company in charge of waste management and recycling in the state.
Addressing journalists on Monday, one of the leaders of the protestors, Oluwaseun Ogunniyi, 60, explained that the angry protesters were the ones sweeping the streets, highway roads, and markets and are still being owed the stipend of N10,000 for four months.
She said, “We close as late as 5 pm. I use N1000 per day to and from work and I am a widow. We always complain but they don’t answer us.”
Another elderly woman, Bimbo Adekunle, said they are always at their duty post as early as 4:30 am to sweep the roads, lamenting that it was tiring not being paid at the due time.
Reacting, the General Manager of ZL Global Alliance, Biola Basorun, said she had held a meeting with the protesting sweepers with the assurance that they would start receiving their pay next week.
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