How Workers Celebrated Yuletide Amidst Unpaid Salaries

By Michael Oche, By Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
— Dec 30, 2014

For most workers across the country who are contending with backlog of unpaid salaries, coupled with rising cost of living and the austerity measures, the yuletide season has been rough and tough, Michael oche and Taiwo Ogunmola-Omilani, report

While few state government workers have had their salaries paid up to date, a majority have not been so lucky. Checks by LEADERSHIP reveal that some federal and state workers have had to endure hard time this yuletide as they have not been paid in the last three months.

In a statement he issued in Kaduna State, Vice President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Issa Aremu, expressed concern over the non-payment of workers’ salaries in 22 states of the country, which he described as unacceptable.

Aremu said that the same governors who have failed to pay workers their salaries for more than three months were able to raise funds to pay delegates during the just concluded party primary elections across the states.

He stated that, “We see the delay in payment of salaries as wage theft, wage robbery. It is actually an economic crime because Nigerian Labour law says thou shall pay the worker as and when due. In fact, by the 22nd of every month you must have paid the workers fully.

“We never heard of any delegate being owed a single penny during the primary elections, but they cannot get money to pay workers. In fact, some of the delegates even bought new cars and properties after the primaries because the money they got in just a few days was much more than what workers earn in many months”.

Also, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) lamented the inability of federal government to pay civil servants their December salaries as well as outstanding emoluments since July 2013.

The union said about 30 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) will not pay December 2014 salaries to their employees.

The Union General Secretary, Comrade Bashir Lawal disclosed that thousands of federal civil servants were yet to be paid their December 2014 salaries, adding that the affected workers and their families spent Christmas in pain and bore the pangs of hunger.

Even in the private sector, most workers lamented that their employers failed to pay their December salaries, leaving them to celebrate the Christmas in pain.

Some workers who spoke to leadership stated that they were unable to enjoy the thrills of the festivity due to the lack of ‘spending power.’

Meanwhile, the ASCSN maintained that the inability of the Federal Government to pay salaries had lent credence to the belief in some quarters that the managers of the public sector economy were “grossly incompetent and rabidly corrupt”.

The union called on the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to explain to Nigerians why the Federal Government could no longer pay salaries to its employees as and when due.

It added that it had become necessary for the minister to address the nation on the embarrassing situation since she has continued to maintain that the country is not broke.

The union said it was disheartening that the civil servants, who are the least paid in Africa, South of the Sahara, could no longer get their meagre salaries on due date, stressing that the delay was pushing the workers and their unions to the wall.

The union also said if government make attempt to retrench workers in 2015, they will not hesitate to embark on industrial action.

“They are not talking of retrenchment because of the 2015 general elections but we overheard it that government will retrench workers but if they do, we will embark on industrial action”, he said.

It also appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to step in and order the finance minister to pay civil servants their salaries without further delay, adding that the necessary machinery should be put in place to ensure that such an embarrassing situation does not repeat itself.

The statement further called on the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), civil society groups and prominent individuals to prevail on government to pay members their salaries to avert disruption of services in the public service.

It expressed sadness that the Federal Government has not been able to pay thousands of Civil Servants their October and November 2014 salary.

“As we write, information reaching the Union from informed quarters indicate that about 30 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) will not pay December 2014 salaries to their employees.

“It is very unfortunate that since October 2014, the Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Education, Works, Labour and Productivity as well as a host of other MDAs have not paid salary to their workers,” the Union regretted.

The union lamented that the reality on ground was that thousands of Civil Servants and their dependents would celebrate this year’s Christmas and New Year in sorrow.

http://leadership.ng/news/398511/workers-celebrated-yuletide-amidst-unpaid-salaries