Cross River workers protest against 20-month unpaid salaries

Workers in Cross River Waste Management Agency on Monday marched to the office of Governor Ben Ayade in Calabar to protest against the non-payment of their salaries since July, 2014.
Their leader, Mr Joseph Fernandez, said the workers were in the governor’s office to solicit his intervention over their plight.
Fernandez said the workers, numbering about 200, had not received their monthly salaries in the last 20 months, adding that this had caused untold hardship to their families.
“We have not been paid since July 2014, so we are here to solicit the assistance of the governor to direct the payment as the suffering has become too much for us bear.
“Our children no longer attend schools and we can no longer meet our family obligations’’, he said.
He attributed the stoppage of their salaries to the reorganisation that took place in the agency, adding that most of those who had put in up to five years were casual workers.
However, security operatives at the gate informed the protesters that the governor and his deputy and Secretary to the State Government were not in the office.
The Commissioner for Environment, Mr Mike Eraye, said the Ministry was looking into the problem, adding that all those that were duly certified would be paid at the end of the exercise.
“We are working on the problem. It was as a result of the reorganisation and right now, we are looking at the issues and as soon as we finish, those who are qualified to get their money will be paid”, he said.