TheCable

Street sweepers and other casual workers in Gombe, on Thursday, staged a protest over concerns that they would be sacked following the expiration of their employer’s contract with the state.

According to NAN,the casual workers — persons involved in cleaning streets and drains in Gombe metropolis — were employed by INEX Cleaners, a private firm.

The workers, who protested in front of the government house, chanted solidarity songs and urged Inuwa Yahaya, governor of Gombe, to ensure that they do not lose their jobs.

Some of the protesters alleged that officials in the Gombe state environmental sanitation and protection agency (GOSEPA) were behind moves to terminate their appointment.

“We know the governor is not against us,” one of the protesters said.

Speaking on the development, Mohammed Ahmed, the general manager, GOSEPA, assured the cleaners that no worker would be sacked in spite of the new agreement with another contractor.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, he said the protest was the result of “misinformation”, adding that any decision taken on the new arrangement would be in their best interest.

He said after the contract with INEX Cleaners expired, the government decided to adverstise for new companies.

“Five companies submitted quotations following the advertisement, and the state government signed a new contract with two different environmental vendors based on their favourable financial quotations,” he said.

“The government carried out investigation which showed that Gombe government is paying higher than most states to clean its environment.

“According to the contract signed by the previous administration, the state pays INEX N930,000 to clean one kilometre, while other states pay N465,000 per kilometre.”

He added that the casual workers were paid N12,000 each per kilometre and 10 workers were engaged per kilometre, which amounted to N120,000 out of the N930,000 the state government was paying the company.

He said under the new arrangement, the state government went with the firm that quoted N450,000 per kilometre, on the condition that all previous workers would be retained and their salaries raised to N15,000.