‘Leave duty post for 72Hrs, get sacked’, Gov Nwifuru to striking workers
From Chinedu Nwafor, Abakaliki
Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State says he will sack any worker who fails to come to work within 72 hours.
Nwifuru was reacting to a one week warning strike declared by the leadership of NLC in the State.
Chairman of NLC in the State, Comrade Egwu Ogugua,had in a press briefing on Sunday alleged that Governor Nwifuru unilaterally pronounced a wage award of N75,000 to grade levels 1 and 2, and N40,000 across board for
Grade levels 3-16.
According to him, the Governor’s approach is averse to the traditional procedures of implementing minimum wage, no matter the magnitude of the beautiful intent.
Egwu argued that when a minimum wage is pronounced, it goes through the rigours process of consequential adjustments that would translate into an agreement which would be signed by both the government and the organised labour.
He added that the pronouncement on the minimum wage by the governor was not a product of any collective bargaining agreement as the organized labour was never part of any consultation that led to the pronouncement.
But Nwifuru in a chat with Journalists on Monday said he needed no permission from anybody before implementing a minimum wage law already passed by the National Assembly and signed by President Ahmed Tinubu.
Nwifuru said: “If any worker fails to go to work, not only that I will not pay such a worker salary, but I will replace him/her within 72 hours.
“As far as I am not guilty and I am not owing any worker and I am paying what we supposed to pay in line with the new minimum wage law. So, if any worker fails to go to work within 72 hours, I will replace the person.
“I have called the Chairman, Civil Service Commission to act on this directive.
I have also directed all the Commissioners to go to their offices and monitor compliance to this directive.
“All the agencies and department of government must be in their offices to record the people that come to work.
“Only people who come to work are the people we will pay through table payment according to the number of days you attend to your duty in your office.
“If you fail to come to work within 72 hours, forget about returning to your duty post, because government is going to replace you.”
