Street cleaners complain of unfair treatment [Archives:2005/849/Business & Economy]

Abdussalam Sharaf
Taiz Bureau
Servant of the people is their master: a famous proverb signifying the importance of work and offering services for others. The value of man will remain deficient till he offers services for others in the society in general and his family members in particular.

The widely spread “Servant of the people is their master” is not confined to a certain group of people or a particular profession, but it will apply in the case of all people who offer services to other members in the society despite material gains.

Differing views:

However different they look, all the social views toward all kinds of professions and works and workers are equal, according to some people while others look down upon a category of workers and their professions.

One social group is found to like and respect the profession of agriculture while another looks down on and dislike it due to a variety of factors stemming from the nature of the society. A third social group is realized to prefer barberry, a profession that is disgusting in the eyes of others because of some social traditions and cultures.

There are some social groups that dislike the profession of cleanliness and considered it as a profession restricted to a particular social category despite the fact that every one gives priority to cleanliness and keeping our environment tidy.

The importance of cleanliness is supported by all the human beings, societies, and nations all over the world working hard to keep their environment clean and attain a degree of advancement in the field of cleanliness.

Views about the profession of cleanliness differ due to a variety of factors and it is unaccepted behavior since it is pursued by individuals belonging to the lowest and poorest categories in the society.

How does the Yemeni society look at workers in the career of cleanliness, do individuals have the desire to work as cleaners, and who are the cleaners and how are they treated by others in the society?

Our feelings not considered:

Cleaners express their sadness as they are looked down on by other individuals. “Some owners of houses and shopkeepers look at us being only cleaners and do not consider our feelings though we sweep away everything from their houses and shops. They do not treat us kindly or sympathize with us and do not take into consideration efforts we exert for their sake. In addition, there are many citizens who do not discard rubbish in the waste bins,” Sami Sa'eed Qied cried. “Some people sympathize with us and treat us kindly since we work in rotations from 6 in the early morning up till 2 after midnight.”

Vision of pathos:

Holding his brush in the street, Ahmad Mohammad Othman, a street cleaner, who felt a bit curious when we followed him to talk with him about the social view toward street cleaners, pointed out: “Some people cooperate with us by discarding their rubbish in the allocated bins and seem to sympathize with us and respect us while others look down upon our profession.”

No attention paid to us:

Sa'eeda Sa'ad commented: “I have been working as a street cleaner for two years from 6 am till noon, and I get YR2000 every ten days out of my monthly salary which is YR6000 that never suffices for my living needs. Citizens do not draw any attention to us.”

Another worker said: “We usually work all morning and sometimes in the evening. We are not paid for our overtime work except for our monthly salary that does not exceed YR 9,000.”

The social views differ from one person to another; there are some people who respect us and value our efforts while others sneer at us. Many shopkeepers, instead of cooperating with us, shout at us and say that we cause dust while sweeping.

Noble profession but

There are many well-educated people who responded differently. Bashir Ahmad Abduljalil, a shop owner, is of the view that insulting the profession of cleanliness stems from the fact that the majority of street cleaners belong to the poorest categories. These people are marginalized and have their own habits and traditions, and they do not care for organizing their houses and even their bodies, although cleanliness is their career.

Bashir bears in mind that cleanliness is a noble profession and a source of income for sustaining one's family. This profession will keep people away from practicing illegal ways to gain money.

Modest profession

For his part, Abdulmalik Qaied confirmed the society humiliate work in the field of cleanliness, and individuals in general dislike such profession, even street cleaners themselves does not have the will to pursue the profession.

Insulting vision

Abdulelah Hazzah al-Huraibi, the Cultural Officer at al-Dumla'a Charitable Society pointed out the reasons behind the insulting vision toward street cleaners stem from the fact that they belong to the marginalized category. These people are not rewarded and kindly treated by the society eventhough they save no effort for the sake of others. So the different media means should raise awareness among people about the role of street cleaners and their profession is a noble work. “Servant of the people is their master”.

988 job opportunities:

Regarding job opportunities offered by the Cleanliness Fund in Taiz and its care for paying workers for their overtime work, allowances and increments, Abdulhakim Saif General Manager of the fund, mentioned there are 821 street cleaners in the governorate of Taiz who work for daily wages, in addition to 26 drivers with a monthly payment of YR 10,800 and 133 supervisors who gains around YR 15,000 per month.

YR 9,054,800 is the total amount of salaries monthly paid to all workers in the sector of cleanliness and around YR 3 million are paid for their overtime works and allotments.

It is impossible for the society to dispense with cleanliness due to the vital importance of the role of workers in the field despite the kind of treatment they receive from others in the society. Lack of awareness about the importance of cleanliness leads to the unfair treatment of cleaners. Why are these hardworking cleaners looked down upon while collecting rubbish from streets to maintain our environment tidy?
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