Drama unfolded at the Aboom offices of Zoomlion in Cape Coast yesterday when scores of angry casual Zoomlion workers (mainly women sweepers and men sprayers) who were embarking on a sit-down strike locked up the offices of the company, preventing senior staff from entering the premises.
The workers, numbering about 50 and wearing red bands, were demonstrating against the refusal of the company to pay the sweepers for the past five months and sprayers for the past ten months.
The demonstrators got to the offices early around 6:00 A.M., on Thursday and locked up the already locked office with a different padlock, making it impossible for staff who arrived later that morning to enter the office to work.
Two workers, who were identified as Fausty and Clement, begged the agitated workers to open the office to enable them to work but the adamant workers refused, forcing Clement to go back home.
The other staff, Fausty however remained at the premises and continuously appealed to the people to open up the office for her.
But the demonstrators refused demanding that they pay them their money.
Speaking to Today one of the protesters who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity stated that they have not been paid for the past five months and the men who are in charge of fumigation have also not been paid for the past ten months, hence their action.
The aggrieved worker said all efforts to get the attention of the appropriate quarters concerning their issue have proved futile.
�Our pay is just one hundred cedis per month but these greedy people have refused to have mercy on us and have made us starve for these months. We can�t tolerate this any longer,� the staff affirmed.
�What annoys us the most is that these people (management) get their salaries every month and care less about whether we get ours or not. How do they expect us to cope in this current economic hardship?� she added.
She further added that management keeps telling them to exercise patience because they are working on their salaries, but nothing positive seems to come of the several months of waiting.
They have therefore threatened to continue to lay down their tools and keep the office locked until their situation is given the urgency it deserves.
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