Kogi workers may go on strike over payment of half salary
A one-week ultimatum has been issued to Kogi state government by the organised labour to press home their demand for workers full salary for the month of July. This, they hinged on the sustenance of existing industrial peace and harmony in the state.
In a bulletin signed by 35 out of the 42 chairmen and secretaries of affiliated bodies of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Public Service Joint Negotiating Council (PSJNC), dated September 5, and made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Lokoja, organized labour in the state urged the workers to consider the half salary paid into their accounts as ‘Sallah gift.’
The workers said its stance on “No percentage or half salary as proposed by government” on 50 per cent and 40 per cent bases to state and local government staff respectively remained sacrosanct.
The union urged government to pay the full salary for July on or before Tuesday, September 12, 2017 to avoid industrial dispute calling for sustenance of the industrial peace and harmony in the state.
“Comrades, it is no longer news that government has made good its threat of reducing our salaries to 50percent and 40percent for state workers and local government workers and teachers respectively.
“That the organised labour derived recurrent wage bill of N3.1 billion from the government’s presentation to the organised labour during our meetings on 29th and 30th of August 2017.
“We wish to bring to your notice that government in response to our correspondence on this matter has now brought down the monthly wage bill of the state from the earlier N3.1 billion to N2.6 billion.”
The workers wondered why they were paid half salary when N2.6 billion quoted by government as July 2017 wage bill equaled the July allocation of N2.6 billion that accrued to the state from the Federation Account without Internally Generated Revenue (IGP) in August.
“We then wish to ask; why the percentage payment of salary even when government could further access some funds from its IGR for other government expenditure(s)?
The union also challenged the government to come out and tell the public what happened to the allocation it received in the month of June 2017 without mentioning the previous months.
