On October 9, the communal administrator of Nyanza-Lac in Makamba province (southern Burundi) issued a press release that sets the ceiling not to be exceeded for remuneration for field work and masonry. Some residents, especially in the rural area, denounce a measure that they consider « unilateral ». INFO SOS Médias Burundi

In a press release, the administrator of Nyanza-Lac sets the remuneration for two categories of labor.

For field workers, the remuneration is set at 5,000, 7,000 and 9,000 francs, respectively for those who work 6 hours, 9 hours and 12 hours.

As for masonry work, the remuneration is set at 8,000 for mason assistants and 15,000 Burundian francs for masons per day.

Marie Goreth Irankunda explains that the decision was taken during a municipal council.

A measure deemed unfair

Residents of Nyanza-Lac denounce an « arbitrary » measure. Residents of the rural part especially lament that « the number of hours has been significantly reduced ». They say they will be affected because there will no longer be any room for way to negotiate the salary with our employees. Before this measure, employers and employees negotiated the price according to the task and the number of days or hours to be completed.

Some members of the municipal council disapproved of the proposal, in vain. They say they would like to see the administrator start by regulating the prices of basic necessities « as we had wished instead of starting by fixing these wages of daily workers ».