The Nigeria Labour Congress on Wednesday directed its Benue, Plateau and Osun States chapters to serve appropriate ultimatums on their governments to pay the arrears of salaries arrears of between three to eight months or face disruption of services.
The NLC, which gave the directive in its New Year message to Nigerians, condemned what it termed “the insensitivity to the welfare of workers” by many of the state governments.
The Congress, in the message tagged: “Tough Times Don’t Last Forever,” and signed by its President, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar, pointed out that any state governor who cannot pay workers their salaries, as and when due, has no moral justification for taking his own salary and allowances.
“We call on workers to massively reject these anti-worker politicians in the 2015 elections,” it said.
Benue, Plateau and Osun State, the NLC observed, are owing their workers arrears of salaries ranging from three to eight months.
It added that some Federal Government employees in the Ministries of Education, Labour and Productivity, among others are owed arrears of salaries ranging from one to three months.
According to the NLC: “We condemn this insensitivity to the welfare of workers. Any State Governor who cannot pay workers their salaries, as and when due, has no moral justification for taking his own salary and allowances.
“We call on workers to massively reject these anti-worker politicians in the 2015 elections.
“We direct our State Councils in the three states mentioned above to serve appropriate ultimatums on their government to pay the arrears of salaries or face disruption of services.”
The NLC, which is the umbrella body for Nigerian workers, saluted the courage, resilience, sacrifice and patriotism of Nigerian workers in the face of daunting challenges in the preceding year.
In the words of the NLC: “On the Labour front, we note with burdened hearts, the spate of strikes across the sectors, especially in health and education largely because of the refusal or inability of government to honour agreements it voluntarily entered into with the unions.
“This led to avoidable disruption of services with consequences for students and vulnerable Nigerians with whom government had made its pact. Government’s behaviour further undermined the fragile peace and capacities in the sectors.
“Collated reports from our state councils indicate that a number of state governments and some federal MDAs have not paid their workers for December as the year comes to an end.
“Of the 30 states reporting as of the 30th of December, 11 subjected their workers to a Christmas/New Year celebration without the December salary.
“Three of these, Benue, Plateau and Osun owed their workers arrears of salaries ranging from 3 to 8 months. Some federal government employees in the Ministries of Education, Labour and Productivity, among others, are owed arrears of salaries ranging from 1-3 months.”
The Congress condemned the government’s insensitivity to the welfare of workers.
It pointed out that any State Governor who cannot pay workers their salaries, as and when due, has no moral justification for taking his own salary and allowances.
It called on workers to massively reject these anti-worker politicians in the 2015 elections.