Cross River workers begin strike Wednesday

The one-week ultimatum issued  by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Cross River State chapter,  to the state government is due to  expire on  Wednesday. Chairman of the NLC, Comrade John Ushie, said except the state government quickly responded to all the grievances and demands placed before it, all civil servants in the state have been […]

The one-week ultimatum issued  by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Cross River State chapter,  to the state government is due to  expire on  Wednesday.

Chairman of the NLC, Comrade John Ushie, said except the state government quickly responded to all the grievances and demands placed before it, all civil servants in the state have been directed to stay away from work.

Ushie reiterated the state workers’ resolve to embark on the strike action in a phone interview with our reporter, saying that they stood by their decision taken last week Wednesday.

He advised the state governor, Ben Ayade, to implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the union after it called off its industrial action on July 2, this year.

He expressed disappointment over what  he described as the state government’s failure to honour its agreement with the union which led to the suspension of its strike.

He said, “One of the union’s grouse is that the government has failed to pay arrears of gratuity and pension to retirees from 2013 to date.

“Another issue the union frowns against is workers’ promotion which the government promised to carry out only to stop it and revert the salaries of those promoted to the old salaries they were receiving before their purported promotion.”

 He said the union wants the government to harmonise the payroll system to “eliminate the current distorted and conflicting system whereby the accountant general pays salaries and sometimes alternates with the Head of Service.”

Ushie called for the payment of imprest to MDAs, because without imprest, he said, the civil service would be paralysed.