Bus companies accused of not paying employees during the public transport ban

Several employees at many bus companies have accused their managers of not paying them their monthly salary.

Patrick Mwesigwa the manager in charge of luggage at Global buses, has told Eagle online  that all their workers were sent home, only those few working on cargo luggage were allowed to remain operating and those home are not paid until they resume work again.

Mwesigwa says that the company is not operating and this means its income is down therefore; their employees who are home are not paid.

He said that the company cannot manage pay employees who are not doing anything for the company yet it is also battling with bank loans.

He says he is also touched about how the employees are not given given any pay, not even a half of the salary but they have nothing to do because their employees are not the only ones going through these tough situations.

“This pandemic situation is regrettable; no one should be blamed for this shut down. The Presidents loves his citizens and he wants his people to remain safe, that is why he stopped the public transport and we had to comply with the president’s directives. “Says Mwesigwa.

Moses Godfrey Kaita, one of the employees with YY coaches told Eagle Online that they are totally struggling as employees because their job with these buses has been all they have to feed their families.

“YY only pays workers who are on the cargo, it provides transport to and fro but that employee who is not at work, it is hard for a company to pay that person. He says that if the Government cannot manage paying its people, how about a small company like YY coaches”. Says Kaita.

Kaita, says employees ranges from security guards both of bus park and those have been moving with buses, conductor, turn man, driver, spare driver, trainees, booking clerk, accountants, off and on loaders to managers, all these people are home sited with no source of income.

He says YY Company has over 80 buses that have over 400 employees which are now jobless and not earning any money and even when the company will start operating, it will make some to remain until the business start picking up.

“Even when we will begin working, things will still be tough for us because some employees will have been in total loans. Kaita says the president should have at least told them to have all the preventive measures and limited the numbers of passengers in each bus. This would have kept some workers on work.”Kaita remarks.

Kaita says this will have a big and negative effect on everyone. This shutdown will leads the people who are not earning into robbery and theft since some people will not sit down and see the family members eating not or dying of hunger.

“Though we have remained in transporting the luggage, we shall not deliver them into peoples door steps, still they will need a boda to pick these luggage which you may not be sure if the boda guy will deliver them. We have seen boda guys end up taking clients luggage to their homes.”

Kaita thinks President should have handled this matter like Tanzania which said that let citizens work and makes sure they are concerned with each other. If you identify a patient, take charge and bring the patient to health facilities.

A security guard at Link Bus Park and Baby coaches Bus Park in Kisenyi says that the business is at stand still, they only report on duty in the morning, sit, eat and go back in the evening. They said all the buses were taken away and they are now in garages being serviced.

“My brother, you can see the park is empty and all the workers were sent home and you see the offices are totally closed until the president directs us to resume operating.” A security guard at Link Bus Park told Eagle Online.

Following the Ministry of Health confirmation of five new Covid-19 cases, President Yoweri Museveni On Wednesday 25th 2020, suspended the use of buses, taxis, and boda bodas among other public means of transport in order to curtail the spread of the deadly COVID-19.

The President, however, said that only passenger vehicles are prohibited, meaning that the cargo trucks are allowed to continue operating.

Museveni also said that Boda-bodas and other public means may operate if they are making deliveries.