Air carrier pilot reported during taxi to the gate a ramp worker walked in front of the aircraft to short cut to the jet bridge. Pilot slowed taxi and waited until worker exited safety zone.

Narrative

I taxied towards gate X when I noticed a ladder and a traffic cone inside the fuel cart box. I stopped the airplane. Immediately a ramp worker who stood next to the jet bridge walked to the fuel box and removed the unauthorized equipment. The marshaller motioned me forward again and I restarted the taxi. Suddenly the worker who had removed the equipment walked right in front of the airplane and took a short cut through the safety zone back to the jet bridge. I slowed down and waited until the worker had exited the safety zone.Cause: I have filed numerous safety reports about the ramp in ZZZ. Got a while the situation improved. But lately it has deteriorated again. The lazy attitude of the ramp personnel who use the fuel cart box to stash ramp equipment and the do not care" attitude of supervisory personnel and local management make this one of the most dangerous ramps in our system.Suggestion: I recommend a safety stand-down in order to reeducate the ramp personnel. I also recommend to replace the supervisory personnel with more safety orientated employees."