Different drivers who spoke to IGIHE on the condition of anonymity said though they are not public workers, they wish to have written contracts and to be treated equally as other employees.
A driver who is in the job in the last three years said that he could not get access to a bank loan as he receives his salary in cash.
“I feel embarrassed when some people consider me as a rich person due to my job. How can you earn Rwf120,000 or Rwf100,000 and take care of a family in Kigali paying all necessities and rent?” expressed one of drivers who spoke to IGIHE.
He said that because he receives the salary in cash, he could not access bank credit which would help him establish other income generating activities.
“Nothing else I can do than staying as it is the only job I hold,” he said
Another driver said that they have different problems depending on personality of one’s boss, stating that the common problem is having a very ‘demanding job’.
“The first problem we mostly have is working extra hours which we are not paid for. We do not get a day off and also inequalities in salaries. Some of us get Rwf100,000 others Rwf150,000 and others earn Rwf200,000 per month while we do the same job,” he explained.
Speaking to IGIHE, the Minister of Public Service and Labour (MIFOTRA), Fanfan Rwanyindo Kayirangwa said that she is aware of the problem, but added that these drivers are not public servants as they are recruited by individual officials. She said that they should seek contracts from their respective employers.
“Whoever gives a job to a driver should give him a job contract as it is done to other employees, it is also their right to get paid from banks; their employers should facilitate them on this circumstance,” she said.
She said that sometimes drivers get mission fees when they take ministers to public mission, but said that the government could not provide with them all necessities.
The Director of Labour in MIFOTRA Alexandre Twahirwa told IGIHE that they have developed a feasibility study of job contracts that ministers should sign with their employees.
“We have developed a job contract form which they could edit based on their advantages. We have shared them with institutions in charge so that they will communicate them to ministers,” he said.
However, Twahirwa said that it will not be mandatory for every minister to use the contracts, as it will depend on their agreements with their drivers.
He urged drivers who don’t have job contracts and medical insurance to report their concerns to institutions in charge so that they can act on them.
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