Verification: Our members are suffering – Abia NLC

…Accuses state govt of insensitivity to plight of her members,

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

 Abia State Council of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused the Labour Party-controlled government in the state of insensitivity to the plight of its members.

Abia NLC levelled  the accusation during a Press Briefing to sensitize the labour force in the state on the need to fully comply and participate in the 2-day nationwide warning strike called by the national headquarters of the Union for Tuesday, 5^th and Wednesday, 6^th September, 2023, saying the purpose was to tell government that Nigerian workers could not be suffering and smiling.

State Chairman of Abia NLC, Paschal Nweke, enumerated the grievances of the Council to include crowding of the ongoing verification exercise, forming committees concerning workers without involving Labour, non-remittance of check-off dues, payment of half salaries to pensioners and the delay in sharing palliatives by the state government to cushion the harsh effects of fuel subsidy removal, among others.

Nweke who spoke Monday evening said that Abia NLC was not against the ongoing verification exercise by the state government but was not comfortable with the method.

“Asking many ministries like the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Sports and Ministry of Health, each has not less than 700 workers; to come for verification same day is not palatable. We are calling on the government to change this method of verification by making sure that all MDAs are invited one by one per day for verification. This issue of verification is affecting our people. Workers are not paid when they are supposed to be paid. People with Disabilities are also subjected to the same treatment,” Nweke said.

“If you want to do verification, we are not against it, but what we are against is its effect on our people. If you are doing verification, you continue to pay people and at the end of the verification, you will now be able to find out who and who are ghost workers. But as it stands now, most of us are not paid. People have been hungry for two, three months, it is not acceptable. You cannot seize somebody’s salary and say you are doing verification, what if he dies in the process, what happens,” the Abia Labour chief queried.

The Chairman also frowned at a situation where, he said, government forms Committees concerning workers without involving Labour. “It it is not acceptable. NLC wants them to change that method by making sure that Labour is involved in any committee set up that involves workers,” he stressed.

Nweke noted that the condition of pensioners in the state was pathetic as they were being paid half of their monthly pensions.

“A situation where you pay pensioners half salary, I think this started before the present administration, but we felt the new government was coming to change that. But as I am speaking with you today, they are receiving half-salary. The pensioners are dying almost every day. We felt that the new government has come to take care of, at least, if no other persons, the pensioners. But as it stands now, you are still giving them stipends. Most of these pensioners don’t have up to N3000 as pensions. And you pay them N1, 500. What is it for?” the Abia NLC boss said.

He also expressed worry that non-remittance of check-off dues was affecting the welfare of workers employed by the labour unions who draw their salaries from the check-offs remitted by government to the Labour Unions.

The Council appreciated the government for paying salaries and arrears to workers in the state, but insisted that the right things should be done at the right time.

“We want to appreciate also the fact that they have started paying salaries and arrears, fine and good. But it is also good to do the right thing at the right time. So, as it stands now, we are not comfortable with what is happening as a labour Congress,” Nweke said.

On the issue of providing palliatives to Abians, he said that “most states, even within the South East, have given their people palliatives to actually cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy. But here in the state, we have not seen anything. Even the one from federal, they have not told us how they are doing it. We are also not happy about it.”

“We are calling on government to look into all the issues we have raised now and come out with good arrangements, Abia NLC would not like to engage in a fight with the Labour government in the state.

“The Labour Congress formed Labour Party and therefore, we don’t want a situation where we will begin to have issues with a labour government. This is the only state that has Labour Party as a government. You don’t expect us to have issues with our own party. So, we call on government to look into these issues and come up with solutions.

“We don’t want to get into a scuffle with the state government. But if it comes to that, we will not hesitate to do the needful. But for now, government should sit up and do the right thing,” he warned.

Nweke also told journalists that his Council was not aware of the current directive by Governor Alex Otti that workers employed from January this year to date should be disengaged but however maintained that there should be a process to handle it. “The Governor’s directive to disengage workers employed from January 2023 till date has not come to our notice. The people who were employed were given letters of appointment. So, if government wants to disengage them, they should give them letters of disengagement. There must be a process,” he insisted.

On the two-day nationwide strike called by NLC, Nweke said it was important that all workers in the public and private sector in the state must actively and massively join in the strike.

He said: “This is to inform the general public and Abia State government that in line with the directives of the national headquarters of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), after is National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Thursday, August 31, 2023, with the intent that all State Councils of Congress should mobilize all affiliates of Congress for a two-day warning strike on Tuesday, 5^th and Wednesday, 6^th September 2023, that NLC, Abia State Council and all industrial unions, all workers in Abia State, both in public and private sectors, shall join their colleagues in other states to embark on 2-days warning strike.

“In line with this directive, all workers in Abia State, both state and federal, including Electricity workers, Market men and women, Keke operators, NURTW, NUPENG, PENGASSAN, fuel stations, banks and other financial institutions are directed to join the strike to protest against removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government which has brought untold hardship on Nigerians and its failure to implement agreement reached with organized Labour towards mitigating the attendant consequences; and, to protest government meddling in the internal affairs of our affiliate members, for instance, NURTW and NULGE, etc.”

“If what you are passing through is painful to you, join the 2 days warning strike. Let us tell the whole world that we cannot be suffering and smiling. Don’t ignore the directive and expect the organized Labour to perform magic,” he told workers, adding “rather join forces with organized labour to tell government that enough is enough.”