Workers for Africa Kongdai road construction company in Northern Bahr el Ghazal are continuing their demonstration over delayed salaries. Some workers claim up to seven months payment.

One of the striking workers speaking in Aweil town on Tuesday said the company’s director general Lual Aguer had promised to pay salaries on Monday or Tuesday. But as of today there was no payment, and the company official could not be reached for comment. His deputy also refused to comment.

The workers say that their families are suffering because they have not been paid, reported Nhomlau FM. Some of their children are not going to school because they cannot pay the fees, while others say they are in debt to traders or have trouble buying enough food.

Additionally, workers say they have refused to turn over the keys to the company vehicles to the police. The police, who would not comment on the issue, did not try to force them to give the keys back.

The workers say they will remain off work until the company responds to their demands. They asked the government of the state to intervene to help settle the issue.

Teachers still not paid

Teachers in Aweil East County, meanwhile, report they still have not been paid. They say they expected the salary committee from the national government to arrive on Thursday last week.

The head teacher for Panapouth Primary School in Aweil East County says that teachers from his school are still working, because their school is nearby to the county office where the salaries committee will pay the teachers.

But teachers who come from far places will not go back to their schools because the pay committee could come at any time.

He explained, “This committee, if they call someone without his presence, they will not call again – that is why teachers from remote areas didn’t go back to their schools because they are waiting for the committee to come.”

Reporting by Nhomlau FM

File photo: A road under construction in South Sudan’s Rumbek East County (Gurtong)