National Assembly cleaners, consultant disagree over salary payment

Cleaners in annex one and two of the National Assembly yesterday withdrew their services in protest of the assembly’s inability to pay their five months outstanding salaries.

Spokesman, Victor Mordi, said the action of the workers should not be seen as insensitive, but a way of demonstrating their displeasure over the non-payments of their entitlements since August.

He said the annex workers numbering 22 were unhappy that while their counterparts at the White House and main buildings of the Assembly were being paid handsomely and promptly, they were poorly paid for the same task.

When contacted, a director of the consulting firm in charge of the cleaning services at the annex, Muktar Gora Abdulrazak, dismissed claims by the workers that they were being owed.

He said just as the cleaners complained early yesterday, management swung into action and paid their entitlements.

Mordi said while a cleaner who had been employed for up to three years and above gets N15, 000 monthly, a newly employed staff gets N13, 000.

He urged the consultants handling the cleaning of the annex facilities to jack up the workers’ monthly pay and ensure that the salaries are paid promptly.

As at 4:00pm yesterday, the workers refused to return to work, leaving the offices, front areas, walkways and conveniences in bad state. The entire surroundings also oozed with offensive smell.

In the N6.06 trillion budget of 2016, N945, 800 million was allocated for National Assembly general services, which included consultancy services for cleaning, sanitation and fumigation.