Some physically-challenged persons allegedly employed by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority as street sweepers have called on the agency to increase their salary.
According to some of the physically-challenged persons who spoke with our correspondent on Monday in the Oshodi area of the state, they earn between N5,000 and N30,000 monthly while some said they relied solely on alms from the public.
They were seen sweeping the pedestrian bridges in Oshodi.
One of them, Sayo Ajayi, who showed our correspondent his ID card said to have been issued by LAWMA, said his N5,000 salary was too small to sustain him and his family.
Ajayi, who said he was a beggar for seven years before joining LAWMA, added that it was difficult for him to climb the bridge to carry out his task, but he had no choice since he needed to cater for his family.
He said, “Some years ago, my colleague and I were paid N12,000 to share and the official who was bringing the money then would remove N1,000 from it but now they pay N5,000 directly to my account. It is not easy surviving with N5,000 per month, especially in the current economic situation.”
“I come from Orile-Iganmu to Oshodi here in the morning and leave around 3pm. I get up to N1,500 or more from some pedestrians and I spend almost N1,000 on transport, so I use whatever is left to support my wife and only child.”
Also speaking with PUNCH Metro, Alowonle who claimed to have been working for LAWMA for 12 years said he was being paid N30, 000 monthly but the amount was not sufficient to cater for his family’s needs.
He said, “LAWMA employed me from Alausa and my monthly salary is N30,000. I live at Atan but I only go home on Fridays or Saturdays. During the week, I sleep at Anthony. The money is not much so I can’t waste it on transportation. I have a family to feed. I have five children, and some are still in school.
“The other sweeper you saw is not yet a registered staff member. The ID card he was given is just to defend himself so that he won’t be taken away with beggars. For them to become staff members, they need to be registered from Alausa.”
Another crippled bridge sweeper, Umoru Muhammed, said, “LAWMA has never paid me. They just gave me an ID card. It was the Chairman at Ojota Bridge that gave me the ID card but I have never been paid. I sweep this whole bridge alone and when I leave here, I go inside Oshodi market to sleep.
“Passers-by are the ones who give me money. It is not easy sweeping the bridge but I prefer it to begging and getting arrested like others, so I just keep managing myself.”
Another physically-challenged sweeper, Abiodun, said, “I am not being paid by the government, it’s just people that give me alms while I sweep the bridge. I would love to be a shoemaker, I can make sandals and slippers but I don’t have money to buy the instrument needed, So, I just sweep here instead, hoping that people will give me money.”
Reacting, LAWMA’s Director of Public Affairs, Mrs Folashade Kadiri, said the organisation was committed to ensuring that its workers, regardless of their abilities, receive fair and competitive compensation for their efforts and that no street sweepers are earning N5,000.
“Regarding the claim by some disabled sweepers allegedly being paid only N5,000 monthly or receiving no compensation at all, it is fictitious and we don’t have people earning such an amount on our payroll. We take such allegations seriously, and are actively investigating the claim and even the ID card in the possession of the person, as we need to know who signed it,” Kadiri said.
Punch Newspaper