Beneficiaries under the Sanitation model of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) engaged by the Waste Management Company, Zoomlion Limited are demanding payment of their salary arrears over 16 months.

The angry workers comprising female sweepers and cleaners lament the non-payment of the outstanding salaries is biting hard on their living conditions even as they grapple with the prevailing economic difficulties.

The cleaners adorned in their blue and orange uniforms took to the streets of the business district of Kumasi to vent their displeasure at their employer.

For close to a year and a half, these workers mostly women have had to endure working without being paid their due salary of GH₵250 every month.

The aggrieved workers have threatened to boycott their services if the government fails to pay the outstanding amounts.

“You’ve not paid one year four months arrears. You only paid for four months. We demand all our arrears. We wake up at dawn at the peril of our lives,” one of the workers said.

These workers sweep streets, market centres and the central business districts of Kumasi both day and night.

Luv News understands a number of these workers have over the past year withdrawn their services over the non-payment.

They are questioning why their meagre salaries are delayed despite working diligently for them.

“How much is this money that you cannot pay us? Every month you receive your salaries, but we must suffer. We have family to take care of,” they added.

Reacting to the calls, Ashanti Regional YEA Coordinator, Seth Twumasi, says discussions are ongoing to settle the arrears.

“Although we recruited them, the YEA does not pay the sanitation module beneficiaries directly from its coffers. The government’s contract with Zoomlion is for the waste management company to pre-finance the payment of the beneficiaries and be reimbursed later. But we are working to ensure the continuous delay in paying the cleaners is resolved,” he assured.