Since its introduction, the
scheme has helped to ease the difficulties experienced by commuters in the
state with about 20 million people.
Drivers of the Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) scheme in Lagos, Nigeria have embarked on strike over a reduction
in their salaries.
The scheme, an initiation
of Bola Tinubu, a former governor of the state and now national leader of the
All Progressives Congress (APC), started fully during the first term of
Babatunde Fashola, a former governor of the state who is now the housing, works
and power minister under President Muhammadu Buhari.
But with the industrial
action embarked upon on Tuesday, August 9, all BRT buses plying routes in
Lagos, especially on Ikorodu road, have been off the road.
The drivers are angry with
the authorities over a reduction in their salaries which they claim cannot take
them home.
It was gathered that BRT
staff receive around N50,000 pay package on monthly basis, but the management
of the buses reduced the salary to N40,000.
Commuters were stranded
along all the routes being plied by the BRT buses.
Public relations officer,
Primero Transport Services Limited, Mosunmola Agbaja, refused to speak on the
reasons why the buses were not on road when he was contacted.
She said they were off the
road because the management of the company was addressing them.
Managing Director of the
company, Fola Tinubu, said the drivers were being paid N50,000 monthly and
another N20,000 bonus.
He explained that some of
the drivers would take the buses out and park them somewhere without meeting up
with the needed target and still collect the monthly salaries and bonuses.
According to Tinubu, the
management decided to reduce the monthly salaries to N40,000 and increase the
bonus to N40,000 so that those who did not work would only collect the N40,000
while those who meet up with the target would collect both.
He said the company would
not tolerate a situation where some people who did not work would collect full
salaries and bonuses.
Primero Transport Service
Limited was recently given the sole franchise to manage the BRT scheme after
the state government terminated the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW’s
franchise.
Primero Transport Services
Limited was launched on November 12, 2015 by Governor Akinwumi Ambode at
Majidun depot.
Its full operation
commenced on 13th November, 2015.
Recently, a clash between
officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) and street traders in the
state led to the destruction of some of the buses.
The traders were angry that
one of their colleagues, who was fleeing from the officials, ran into a moving
truck and was crushed.
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