Kogi gov’t, Labour brace for showdown over wage part-payments

The decision of the Kogi State Government to pay July, 2017, salary of state and local government workers in instalments with each instalment representing a certain per cent seems to be preparing ground for another round of industrial unrest in the state. Daily Trust gathered that state workers got 50 per cent of their July […]

The decision of the Kogi State Government to pay July, 2017, salary of state and local government workers in instalments with each instalment representing a certain per cent seems to be preparing ground for another round of industrial unrest in the state.

Daily Trust gathered that state workers got 50 per cent of their July salary while their local government counterparts got 40 per cent before the Sallah.

The state government said shortfall in the allocation accruing to it from the federation account necessitated such payment.

However, the decision of the state government has not gone down well with the organised labour and generality of workers in the state.

Already, the various labour unions have kicked against the percentage payment and have urged the government to pay full salaries in the interest of industrial harmony.  

The organised labour in Kogi State has threatened industrial unrest should the state government fail to pay July, 2017, salary in full on or before September 12.

The unions: the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Public Sector Joint Negotiation Council (PSJNC), in a bulletin issued in Lokoja, described the half salaries as “Sallah gift”.

The organised labour argued that the claim by the state government that it could not pay full salary due to shortfall in allocation from the federation account was not tenable.

The unions pointed out that the state government had earlier, at a meeting with labour leaders, put the monthly wage bill at N3.1bn but later brought it down to N2.6bn following observations raised by the organised labour.

“Comrades, if the N2.6bn being quoted now by government as the July, 2017, wage bill is sacrosanct, and if the monthly allocation that accrued to the state from the federation account without the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) shared in the month of August, 2017, stands as N2.6bn as presented to the organised labour during the said meeting on this matter, 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?

“We wish to assure all workers that the organised labour still maintains its stance on ‘no percentage/half salary’ as proposed by government.

“Hence, the current payment of 50 per cent salary to state workers and 40 per cent to local government workers and teachers is considered as Sallah gift as earlier stated and we urge you to see it as such”, the unions said in the bulletin.

The organised labour urged the workers to remain calm, law abiding and prayerful as they awaited further directives.

In the same vein, the Kogi State chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has rejected the payment of 50 per cent salary to its members.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Godwin Tijani, the NMA noted that the association was not invited to the meeting held between the state government and labour leaders where it was agreed that 50 per cent would be paid to workers.

“We only saw the news in the media which we took with a pinch of salt, but many of our members were getting alert confirming the payment of 50 per cent of their salary. Kogi doctors are not happy with that decision.

“As a noble and an understanding association, we expected the government to notify us of this shortfall and not to take us by surprise,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP) in Kogi has said that the payment of 50 per cent salary to health workers was an attempt to introduce dichotomy in the health sector in the state. 

A statement jointly signed by NAGGMDP Chairman, Dr. Alhassan Abubakar, and its Secretary, Dr. Nuhu Idris, in Lokoja, said government’s action was a move to discriminate her workforce which could cause division in the state’s civil service.

The association said it was rather unfortunate that while the Muslim faithful were preparing for Sallah, the state government chose to dash their hope and that of their colleagues by resorting to payment of half salary.

“We view government’s current action as an attempt to introduce dichotomy in the health sector with the view to weakening the fraternity.

“Doctors in the Hospital Services Management Board (HSMB) and the state Ministry of Health were singled out for this unfair treatment, while our colleagues in the Kogi State Specialist Hospital (KSSH), the university and other tertiary institutions got full salary. 

“The NAGGMDP supports the full payment of salary to those so affected, but reject without equivocation, the payment of half salary to the rest of us.

“It is most disheartening that some of our members are still being owed months of salary and underpayment ranging from two to 18 months,” the statement said. 

However, the association affirmed their support of the intending resumption of the earlier suspended strike by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA). 

Meanwhile, some civil servants who expressed worry over the development, appealed to the government to address the matter urgently.

A staff in one of the ministries, Mr. Nathaniel Ali, complained that the payment of half salary in the face of the current economic recession made life difficult for workers.

Another worker, James Aliwo, said it would be difficult for him to pay the school fees of his children as the schools resumed and therefore, appealed to the government to pay their salary in full.

Reacting, the Director General on Media and Publicity to Governor Yahaya Bello, Mr. Fanwo, admitted that government had paid some workers full salary, while others got 50 per cent due to shortfall in allocation to the state.

He said the state government was able to pay 100 per cent to all pensioners with arrears because of their social situation. 

Fanwo added that the government had also paid full salary to judiciary workers and all workers in the state’s tertiary institutions, and also cleared all subventions.

He, however, said that all other categories of staff, including political office holders, were paid 50 per cent salary due to the shortfall in allocation and non-payment of the Budget Support Fund from the federation account.

He explained that the government, over the months, had been able to pay full salary through heavy borrowing and funds from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

He noted that when the government saw the situation on ground, labour was invited for dialogue as continued borrowing to pay salary would not only be unsustainable, but would also be a let down to the other sectors of the economy begging for attention.

While emphasising that it was the responsibility of the government to pay workers their full salary, Fanwo said there was need for labour to have a “blue line of industrial understanding.

“It would have been insensitive on our part to default paying our highly respected and understanding civil servants on the excuse of not having enough funds.

“We thank them for their understanding and pledge to clear the arrears as soon as funds are available. We need the cooperation of all to achieve economic prosperity for our state and our people. Things would have been worse if we did not act with patriotic firmness to remove unintended beneficiaries from our payroll, as well as ghost names,” Fanwo said.