.Say: ’19 agencies owed since February’
Civil servants in Imo state has told Governor Hope Uzodinma that the period of COVID-19 lockdown is a terrible time to owe workers’ salaries.
While stating that the lockdown has further deepened the pains of civil servant, the workers begged Uzodinma to defray their thee months of unpaid salary arrears.
Speaking at the weekend during the 2020 Workers’ Day celebration, the organized labour lamented that despite the promise and assurance by Governor Uzodimma that salaries will be paid before the end of every month, they were yet to receive salaries since February through April, 2020.
In the address presented by the state chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Austin Chilakpu, the organised labour disclosed that workers in nineteen parastatals and agencies were yet to be paid for upwards of three months.
Chilakpu listed the affected agencies where workers were owed three months salary arrears to include: Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC), Agriculture Development Programme (ADP), Imo State Water Corporation, Imo State Poverty Alleviation Bureau, primary and secondary school teachers.
Others are Imo State University, Imo State Polytechnic, Imo State Library Board, Imo State Universal Basic Education Board, Imo State Secondary Education Board, Imo Tourism Board amongst others.
Chilakpu therefore called on Governor Uzodimma to direct the office of the Accountant General for the immediate release of the salaries of workers in the affected agencies and institutions, adding that the governor should direct the immediate payment of the April, 2020 to workers in the state to enable them cushion the effect of the continued lockdown.
Chilakpu also reminded Governor Uzodimma that workers in various agencies were owed promotion arrears from 2014 till date.
This, he said, had been one of the contentious issues between the organised labour and the previous administrations, calling on the governor to direct the agencies and institutions concerned to pay the workers their deserved promotion arrears.
The organised labour also decried the withholding of check-off dues belonging to industrial unions by the state government to the tune of 46 months by some parastatals, saying that the non-payment of check-off dues were seriously affecting the operations of the unions.
The NLC Chieftain therefore used the opportunity to appeal to Governor Uzodimma to direct the Accountant General to release the withheld check-off dues to the unions to enable the concerned unions to remit to their respective national headquarters.
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