By Samuel Ogenyi, Uyo
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom has expressed support to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over a 14-day strike ultimatum issued to the state government over failure to pay workers’ entitlement.
The APC said the state government has been retarding the fortunes of civil servants through failure to pay their entitlements and unnecessary slashing of the legitimate ones.
The APC statement endorsed by its spokesperson Barr Nkeruwem Enyongekere in Uyo past weekend is coming after the NLC issued a 14-day ultimatum to the state government over what it termed as unacceptable conduct and actions.
“APC, as a Party with a touch of human feeling, love and affection is heavily hard pressed at this point with the pitiable and sorrowful plights of the workers, therefore graciously backs the civil servants in their determination to reclaim and recover all that Udom’s government has stolen from them in the last five years.
“APC, in a saddening and weeping mood, solemnly draws the attention of international community and the entire world to the five years of Udom’s maladministration that has provoked a new climate akin with trappings of ancient slaves’ work environment typical of slave master overbearing, suppressive and domineering control on his employees.
“Stepping his bounds to the extent of unilaterally withholding the entitlements of retirees and arbitrary extorting workers’ salaries at will with impunity thus undermining the rights of Akwa Ibom State workers and therefore subjecting the workers to another form of slavery quite alien to International Labour Charter.” The statement said.
Some of the reasons NLC gave for its 14-day ultimatum include the “Payment of the 2020 leave grant to all Civil Servants; 2018- 2020 leave grant to workers in the Local Government Service; 2015, 2017- 2020 leave grant to Primary School Teachers; Immediate end to the use of ‘dubious and recalcitrant’ Salary Consultants to manage the State’s Civil Service payroll.
Others include reversal to qualified payroll officers within the service who are eminently qualified to do the same job, clearance of the backlog of gratuities to retirees in the State as follows; Retirees of the State Civil service from April 2016 to the present; Retirees of the Local Government Service from 2012 to the present and retired Primary School Teachers from 2010 to the present.
Labour also demanded the immediate payment of the December 2019 arrears of minimum wage to all Akwa lbom workers and the January 2020 Minimum Wage arrears already paid to other Civil Servants to Primary School Teachers among others.
In the meantime, the state government has set up a joint Government and Labour committee to negotiate issues affecting the Labour force in the state.
The committee is headed on the government side by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr Ephraim Inyangeyen while the state chairman of the NLC, Comrade Sunny James would lead the Labour delegation.
The Committee is to negotiate the 13 points demands of the NLC and submit a comprehensive report within 30 days to the Governor for necessary action.
