Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki (second right) acknowledging cheers from workers during the May Day celebrations at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City... yesterday.
• A’Ibom focuses on housing
• Bayelsa State unions demand prompt salaries payment
Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa has said that workers’ welfare would remain a top priority in his administration even as he disclosed that N3 billion had been spent on the payment for pensioners in the last two years.
The governor, who stated this yesterday at the May Day rally in Asaba explained that his administration was working to ensure better relations between the private sector and the government in recognition of the unique role workers play in the delivery of government’s policies.
He said with prudent management and judicious allocation of resources, the state government would consistently deliver on its promises despite the lean financial resources.
Noting that the state monthly wage bill had snowballed to N6.4 billion, Okowa cautioned warned civil servants who allegedly engage in falsification and forgery of documents to desist from such acts as the long arm of the law would soon caught up with them.
His words: There are series of investigations because of the bad eggs among the civil servants, and we will continue to carryout investigation to ensure that the bad eggs are flushed out of the system.
“Indeed, those involved in the falsification of their documents should desist or face the long aim of the law. The appointment of permanent secretaries will be followed to the letters and on merits not on sycophancy as it may have been done in the past.
The state Chairman of the the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Jonathan Jemirieyigbe said labour relations cannot thrive in an atmosphere of hunger and deprivation of favourable living conditions for workers, adding that there was need for appraisal of the present situation by governments at all levels to give workers and the Nigeria masses a new lease of life.
Meanwhile, the Edo State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for his strategic policies to develop the state and create jobs for the citizens.
They made the call at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City to celebrate this year’s Workers’ Day with the governor. The state NLC Chairman, Emmanuel Ademokun said: “On the side of the working people we are grateful that issues of workers’ welfare are still being attended to by the government despite the economic recession in the country.
“The need to diversify the economy of the state cannot be over-emphasised. It is in this direction that we salute the courage and zeal of the state governor to create about 200,000 jobs in the state.”
Also, the Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel has promised workers better retirement package as government has concluded plans to build owner-occupier housing for them.
He made this disclosure yesterday at the Uyo Township Stadium during the 2017 Workers Day celebrations, stressing that a situation where workers retire without owning a home was becoming embarrassing.
Government’s intervention, he said, would help workers to retire gracefully into their homes and effectively utilize their pensions and gratuities into other productive ventures, instead of using it to build a new home.
Earlier, the state Chairmen of the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) comrades Etim Ukpong and Akamba Awa respectively,
canvassed for better welfare for workers.
They demanded a review of the N18,000 minimum wage to N53,000, saying, “the present salary structure can no longer take us home because of the recession problem.”
In a releted development, the Bayelsa State council of the NLC the TUC yesterday urged the state government to prioritize the prompt payment of workers’ salaries as it remained a frontline charge that should be given more consideration than any project.
The state NLC Chairman, Comrade John Bibre Ndiomu, who gave the charge at May Day rally in Yenagoa demanded that workers salaries, wages and pensioners should be paid on or before the end of every month.
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