Taraba Sanitation Agency cuts street sweepers’ salary to 10k

The Taraba State government has reduced the monthly pay of street sweepers under the Operation Keep Taraba Clean programme from N15,000 to N10,000, saying the move is necessary to accommodate newly recruited workers into the state workforce.

The chairman of the Taraba State Environmental and Sanitation Agency, Hon. Illiya Kefas, confirmed the development while speaking with journalists in Jalingo.

According to him, the decision followed a directive from Governor Agbu Kefas as the government seeks to manage its finances after recruiting more workers into the state and local government civil services.

“Yes, we did not pay the sweepers N15,000 this month; we paid them N10,000 each,” Kefas said.

The street sweepers were hired in 2023 and initially received N20,000 monthly. Their pay was later reduced to N15,000 in 2024 after they were reportedly asked to either accept a N5,000 cut or lose their jobs.

Kefas explained that the latest reduction was influenced by the state’s financial commitments and limited allocations from the Federation Account.

Defending the decision, he said workers unhappy with the arrangement could leave.

“I have the right to ask my people to work at N10,000. Anyone interested will work, and if you are not, you can go your way,” he stated.

He added that the agency also spends money on supervisors, coordinators, monitoring teams, and casual workers across the state’s 16 local government areas, as well as sanitation and waste evacuation activities.

“There is nothing wrong with slashing their salaries. Do you journalists ask us how we manage the agency?” he queried.

The salary reduction is expected to spark concerns among labour advocates and residents, especially as many low-income workers continue to struggle with the rising cost of living.