Sierra Leone burial crews reportedly on strike, leaving Ebola victims in the street
FoxNews.com
October 08, 2014
Burial teams in Sierra Leone reportedly went on strike over lack of hazard pay this week, leaving the bodies of victims of the Ebola outbreak in the country’s streets.
The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation first reported the strike Wednesday. Sidie Yahya Tunis, a spokesman for the country’s health ministry, described the situation to The Associated Press as “very embarrassing” and insisted that money was available to pay the crews. He promised to provide more information later Wednesday.
Speaking on a radio breakfast program Wednesday, deputy health minister Madina Rahman said the strike had been “resolved,” though organizers could not immediately be reached to confirm it was over.
Rahman said the dispute centered on a one-week backlog for hazard pay that had been deposited in the bank but was not given to burial teams on time.
“The health ministry is going to investigate the delay in the health workers not receiving their money,” Rahman said.
Tunis said the burial teams make up a total of 600 workers organized in groups of 12.
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