Abia Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC Tuesday reminded the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti that there are other areas the workers of Abia State are finding things extremely difficult.
Though the workers applauded Otti over his developmental strides within one year in office, they requested the governor to consider them in his quest to rebuild the state, and carry them along in all state activities as it affects the economy and the workforce through the NLC and TUC to reduce friction and improve productivity.
The state NLC chairman, Cmrd Ogbonnaya Okoro handed down this advice to Otti on the occasion of this year’s Workers May Day celebration in Umuahia with the theme “People First”, stating, “I will not end this year’s address without mentioning to you other areas the workers of Abia State are finding things extremely difficult. It is however obvious that these challenges did not start in your regime, but for the fact that governance is a continuum, where assets and liabilities are inherited. It is under that purview that we present these challenges.
“While we commend government for regularizing payment of workers’ salaries, making owing of monthly salaries a thing of the past, may we draw the attention of government to the plight of Abia workers in the MDAs, state agencies and departments, workers in the following agencies of government are being owed salary arrears as follows; HMB 15 months salary arrears, ABSUTH 21 months salary arrears, Arochukwu Technical 22 months salary arrears, Abia Poly 33 months salary Arrears, ABSU 11 months salary arrears, LGA 2 months salary arrears, Check-off dues to various unions in the State, AbiaLine 34 months salary arrears, ABSEDA 16 months salary arrears and CONHESS payment to L.G.A Health Workers.
“From the analysis of indebtedness of our members, it could be seen that the indebtedness of workers salary arrears in the state are high and which is not to the best interest of the government and the workers as well. It should be noted that the stomach infrastructure of these workers are in jeopardy as against the physical infrastructural development of our ambulant Governor, where he has excelled than the previous administrations.
“Labour wishes to stress that it is only the living that walks on a very good road, though we commend the government on the infrastructural renaissance in the State”, and appealed to him “to look inward with a view to reducing the sufferings of these workers”, warning, “if this condition persists, Organized Labour in the state will not further guarantee industrial peace in those sectors”.
While thanking the governor for the pension arrears he paid recently, other areas the governor need to look into, Cmrd Ogbonnaya Okoro said include pension arrears to yet to be verified and dead pensioners, payment of gratuities, payment of federal government N35, 000.00 wage award, non-payment of leave allowance for over seven years, promotion exercises and arrears of promotion and non-establishment of House of Assembly Service Commission, among others.
The TUC chairman, Cmrd Ihechi Enogwe disclosed that since 2022 till date. there has been no promotion to the workers in the state, pleading with the governor, “make Abia workers your priority”.
Addressing the workers, Gov. Alex Otti who titled his speech, “Workers as Agents of Development and Transformation”, said, “It is important to state that efforts and struggles to improve the welfare of workers and the conditions of the workplace are global in nature and have remained constant in the evolution of labour relations.
“In Abia and across Nigeria, we have witnessed several protests and industrial actions by various trade union groups, most notably, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). These agitations are all connected with the unending struggles to advance the welfare of the labour force, and in pursuance of the ideals of democracy, good governance and a better society for present and future generations of Nigerians.
“We are a pro-Labour government and right from the inauguration podium on May 29 last year, we made it clear that never again will consideration of workers’ welfare be an afterthought. As if we anticipated the theme of this year’s event, we made it clear that in the New Abia, it will be “Workers First.”
“Our conviction is that the welfare and interests of the workers, past, present and future, will come before listening to the demands of the political class. Since we assumed office, we have made it an official policy of government that we must meet our salary obligations before political office holders are paid their monthly entitlements.
“The commitment to paying workers their legitimate entitlements was not borne out of charity, but on the understanding that it is irresponsible to owe anybody that has worked hard to earn their wages. Importantly, the connection between regular payment of workers and the performance of the economy is a reality that no one can ignore. To address the injustice of unpaid salaries and pensions, we went to work shortly after assuming office, setting up various teams to look into the record books, interface with the leaders of the affected personnel and advice the government appropriately.
“Not too long ago, we cleared the arrears of pensions accumulated since 2014, following a template agreed upon with relevant stakeholders which saw the government pay out close to N10 billion to our senior citizens. We are presently in discussion with staff of a few other institutions with outstanding salary issues pre-dating our administration for settlement. Within the next few weeks, I am sure that the payment of backlogs of salaries accumulated before May 29, 2023 will be done in line with our determination to right the wrongs of the past.
“In our commitment to put the entire labour force in the State first, we are looking beyond the civil servants and those in the regular employ of the State government. We consider every adult contributing to the state’s economy through various trades and productive engagements to be very strategic in our considerations. Our dream is to make Abia an ideal environment for all who are engaged in legitimate labour to thrive, grow and become prosperous. We are looking beyond wages and financial considerations to the physical environment where our workers spend the greater part of their days”.
On the request for a review of the wage structure for the State’s civil servants, Otti said “I am pleased to inform you that we shall take the lead in implementation as soon as a new national minimum wage structure is agreed. I understand that labour leaders across the country are currently engaging with the federal government and we are following those discussions closely. As soon as a concrete agreement is reached, we shall immediately do the needful as a State.
“We have also noted your other demands including payment of arrears of leave allowance, promotions and other accumulated debts owed our workforce in the last eight to ten years. We shall carefully consider these requests and deal with them on a case-by-case basis, and subject to availability of resources. What you can, however, go home with today is that your welfare shall remain a priority for us. We shall continue to put you first in all policies and programmes of government, and in appreciation of your immense contributions to our economic and social development”.
