Unpaid salaries: Strike imminent in 18 states

There are strong indications that
workers in 18 states may start an
indefinite strike on Monday over
unpaid salaries.
The General Secretary of the NLC,
Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, in a telephone
interview with our correspondent
on Thursday in Abuja, said that the
congress had sent its task force
team to various geo-political zones
of the country.
According to him, the strike has
started in Plateau State, adding
that a similar exercise will begin in
Cross River State and others on
Monday.
The National Administrative Council
of the Nigeria Labour Congress had,
on March 19, 2015, set up a task
force to pursue payment of salary
arrears owed workers by some
state governments.
The report of the task force, which
was exclusively obtained by our
correspondent, showed that 19
states are owing salaries and
pensions.
Ozo-Eson told our correspondent
that the NLC had sent its task forces
to the affected states and directed
those who were being owed to
begin strike.
He said, “The various Task Forces
are working. Plateau is on strike,
Cross Rivers is going on Monday;
the various task forces are working.
“A team is leaving for Benue to
commence action; they are now
free to commence action and we
are supporting them.”
The report of the Task Force of the
NLC revealed that while some of
the states had paid salaries of
workers up to date, they were
owing arrears of pensions running
into months.
The states owing salaries or
pensions are Abia, Akwa Ibom,
Bauchi, Benue, Cross River, Ekiti,
Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, and
Kogi.
Others are Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo,
Plateau, Rivers and Zamfara states.
However, a look at the report
reveals that Adamawa, Anambra,
Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Edo, the FCT,
Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos,
Nasarawa, Niger, Sokoto and Taraba
are not indebted to their workers.
The report stated that Abia State
had not paid salaries of workers of
the State Teaching Hospital for nine
months.
The state is also said to be owing
workers of the Hospital
Management Board eight months’
salary; Abia State Universal Basic
Education Board, six months; Abia
State Polytechnic, five months;
local government workers, four
months; and teachers, three
months’ salary arrears.
It was stated that while Enugu State
had paid salaries of civil servants up
to date, parastatals were owed 12
months’ salaries and pension and
gratuity remain unpaid since 2010.
Others states owing are Osun State
with six months’ salary and pension
arrears; Plateau with six months
salaries and seven months pension;
Benue with five months salaries
and four months pension arrears;
Kogi with four months of pension
and salary arrears; and Oyo which
owes three months salaries and
between five and 11 months of
pension arrears.
Also among the states which are
likely to owe salaries and pension
of workers into the incoming
administration on May 29 are Ekiti
with three months of unpaid
salaries.
Jigawa is owing judiciary workers a
month salary arrears in 2015.
Ondo owes one month salary and
pension, while Ogun is owing one
month salary and 52 months of
unremitted pension deductions to
the Pension Fund Administration.
Although Zamfara State has paid
workers’ salaries up to date, the
salaries of workers who were
recruited in 2014 have not been
paid.
The NLC Task Force also stated that
Rivers State owes one month of
workers’ salaries and three months
of pension while Kano has yet to
pay newly employed teachers for
three months.
However, the Task Force report was
silent on the status of Yobe and
Ebonyi on the ground that there
was no information on them.

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