POUND FOOLISH

Sierra Leone Workers Strike Over Ebola

Want hazard pay for burying victims.

Burial workers in charge of putting the bodies of Ebola victims in the ground have gone on strike. The workers claim they have not been given hazard pay by Sierra Leone’s government. Each day, dozens of bodies are buried by the teams, which are made up of 12 workers who earn roughly $100 a week. This strike could make the outbreak even worse in the West African country, as reports have surfaced of piles of dead bodies awaiting burial. “We cannot bury them because we are risking our lives and those in charge are depriving us of our money,” one team member said. Another declared that, “We don’t even care if dead bodies litter all over the city. All we want is our money. We have been stigmatized in our communities, so let the government try to pay us our money.” The government claims the groups are only owed for this week, not the past two that the teams claim.