The General Secretary of Textile Workers Union, Comrade Issa
Aremu, has called for the removal of governors who cannot pay salaries of their
workers.
Aremu, who is also General Secretary of
Nigeria Labour Congress, said these governours were sworn to an oat based on
1999 constitution that they would ensure welfare of citizens and their
security.
The labour leader stated this during the
maiden Ramadan lecture organised by Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Kwara
State Council in honour of his late wife, Hajia Hamdalat Aremu.
Aremu, said chapter II of Nigeria’s
constitution deals with the fundamental objectives and directive principles of
state policy.
“It says that the duty and responsibility
as well as the primary purpose of government is the security and welfare of the
people. The same section of the constitution also says that the state shall
direct its policy towards ensuring among others that suitable and adequate
shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national (minimum) living wage,
old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the
disabled are provided for all citizens.
“Indeed based on the spirit and content of
the constitution, it is not only shameful for some states to renege on salary
payments, as President Muhammed Buhari rightly observed but it is also clearly
an impeachable offence,” he said.
The NLC leader, who condemned governors
that were not paying workers their salaries, said they have turned them to
glorified slaves.
He noted that it would be difficult for a
nation to fight corruption when workers are not paid their salaries, stressing
that “anti-corruption campaign cannot be sustained when workers do not receive
adequate salaries on time.
“Hungry worker is not only angry but
vulnerable to graft. There is a link between economic growth and wage payment.
A well paid motivated worker will definitely be productive worker.
President
Obama as part of the efforts to revive American economy raised minimum wage
from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour in 2015 and to $20 per hour in 2020.
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) had raised the alarm about low
demand for locally produced goods, leading to high inventories and low capacity
utilization.
“Nigeria can only diversify its economy if
workers as consumers are well paid to patronize locally produced goods and
services.”
He further said that “It is a sad
commentary that most states’ civil servants in particular and Nigerian workers
in general have been turned into glorified slaves as they work without pay for
months. In fact, most workers have unfortunately been turned to working
beggars.
“Alhamdullahi today is the 20th night of
Ramadan. For many workers, they have been fasting before Ramadan. But for God’s
sake, let’s pause a bit and consider, the plight of that worker who has not
been paid for months.
“If he or she is the breadwinner, it is
clear then that the family support collapses. Food must have been difficult to
find to feed the children with all the implications for malnutrition. Some kids
must have been withdrawn from school on account of non-payment of school fees
while Sallah cloth will necessarily elude them. Pray the family is not sick
either.
Since the breadwinner cannot meet expectation, depression logically
replaces love within the household.
“The options before unpaid workers in a
society without social security like Nigeria are therefore better imagined.”
Meanwhile, the organized labour in Kogi
State has directed the entire state workforce to close shops, thereby resuming
the suspended strike action in the state.
In a bulletin to the workers, made
available to newsmen in Lokoja, the labour leaders said government is playing
over their intelligence, and insincere in addressing the problems of salary
arrears owed workers.
The bulletin was signed by the state
chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Onuh Edoka, chairman of the
Trade Union Congress, Comrade Ojo Ranti Mathew, the state president of Nigeria
Union of Local Government Employees, Comrade Tade Adeyemi and chairman of the
Public Service Joint Negotiating Council, Comrade Akeji Aaron among others.
It therefore called on the entire workers
in the state, including local government workers and teachers not to return to
their duty post until they receive further directive, even as they insisted
that the present administration is not concern about their welfare.
However, the state Commissioner for
Information, Culture and Tourism, Hon. Awwal Mohammed at a press briefing in
Lokoja yesterday wondered why the workers have to embark on strike when
government is addressing their plight.
He noted that the position of the labour
leaders came to them as a shock, disclosing that the government had since two
weeks ago commenced payment of salary arrears, adding that the exercise would
be completed in due course.
The commissioner described the action of
the union leaders as an act of sabotage, even as he enjoined the workers to
resume at their duty post today, more so that the government is committed to
improving their welfare.
Equally, the special adviser to the governor
on media and strategy, Mallam Abdulmalik Abdulkarim described the action of the
union leaders as very funny, saying government is working round the clock to
address the problems the present administration met on ground.
He said the Yahaya Bello administration met
a lot of rot in the system, adding that they are aware that there are external
forces working to frustrate the government in its determined efforts to rid the
system of corrupt civil servants.
The special adviser wondered for example
how a civil servant would be collecting salaries meant for over 40 people, and
why some people would be drawing salaries outside the state, disclosing that
all those involved in the atrocities would be severely punished.
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