Yaoundé Scrap Workers Cut 75 Wrecked Buses Into Safer, Steadier Pay

SYNAFSEC is the National Union of Scrap Metal Workers, representing the informal collectors and dismantlers of ferrous waste in Cameroon. Under an ILO project on formalising the ferrous waste collection and recycling sector, it organised four teams of workers who dismantled 75 end-of-life vehicles over two weeks, generating nearly 30 million CFA francs. The operation collected more than 840 tonnes of scrap and cleaned up an urban site that had been neglected for over a decade. More than 150 workers now work with protective equipment, safety training and more predictable earnings.