By Mabinty M. Kamara
More than 600 Coronavirus workers in Sierra Leone have put on hold their strike action for a two-day engagement with senior officials of the National Coronavirus Response Centre over salary delay and backlog payments, some for as far as 9 months.
The meeting was called in a bid to calm the irate workers including contact tracers, surveillance officers, clinical staff case investigators, etc. who demonstrated in front of the NaCOVERC office on Spur Road at Wilberforce in Freetown, displaying placards with inscriptions “Pay our Salaries ……Where are our 9 months salaries? Nacoverc Pay us! COVID workers life matters”. Messages on other placards called on the government to understand their plight and pay their salaries.
Speaking to Politico, Hindolo Morie Momoh, Pillar Lead for the Western Area Urban District Coronavirus Response Centre said they will continue to engage and dialogue with the necessary authorities to ensure that their salaries are paid. “What we did yesterday is not a strike but to call on the attention of the relevant authorities to our plight as workers. Some of our colleagues have gone for 6, 7, 9 and some up to 10 months without their salaries and it’s really challenging given our responsibilities as adults,” he said.
Clinical staff at DICOVERC Western Area, Sullay Kamara who spoke to Politico at the scene of the protest said they are tired of writing letters and sending messages and that it was time they do something more than that. “We want to show the authorities that we are tired of the plenty excuses to our families and those we owe,” he said.
Surveillance Officer Moses Koroma said the authorities have been engaged on several occasions. He said they held a sit-down strike in November last year during which they gave encouraging words and assurances to settle the problem but instead nothing was done to address the issues.
The officials in a press statement in this latest incident expressed their willingness to pay the backlog salaries of the workers, quoting the Chairman who according to the statement, had said in a telephone conversation that they were “committed to addressing all legitimate backlog claims as and when the government makes it available”. The meeting was extended to yesterday, 8th February 2022.
One of the logistics Managers said they are on standby for another action should NaCOVERC fail to meet their demands, noting that they have been patient for too long with unfulfilled promises. “It is really embarrassing my sister. As long as people know that you are working, nobody understands your plight no matter what you say, they just know that you are working and should be paid,” she said.
The majority of the aggrieved workers' politico spoke to said they were supposed to be paid on weekly basis depending on their contracts which have now accumulated into over six months outstanding payments. They therefore called on the government to pay their salaries, noting that they risked everything to take up those jobs despite the fear that Ebola had left in their minds while serving people at that time.
Copyright © 2022 Politico (09/02/22)
