Members of Organised Labour in Niger State have said that their members will not participate in the distribution of palliative as announced by the state Governor, Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago.
Briefing newsmen at the Labour House in Minna today, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, Comrade Idris Abdulkareem Lafene, explained that the decision of the state government not to include civil servants as direct beneficiaries of the palliatives, as proposed by organised labour, has created tension among members.
"The Organised Labour finds it odd that the executive governor did not come out clearly to include the working class in the first phase of the palliatives.
"The deliberate plan by the Niger State Government to skim out the working class and pensioners in the state has triggered serious tension among members of organised labour that could have a negative effect on the overall productivity of the working class," Lafene said.
According to him, the State Administrative Council SAC, in their meeting on Sunday, resolved that the N110 million announced by the governor as a palliative for industrial unions "should be collapsed and added to whatever was intended for the generality of workers and credited directly to the salary accounts of civil servants and retirees in the state and local government areas sustainably for six months".
Other resolutions of the SAC, as presented by the NLC chairman, included the immediate implementation of outstanding promotions and annual increments for eligible workers in the state and LGAs and the implementation of a minimum pension based on the N30,000 national minimum wage for retirees in the state and LGAs, among others.
He explained that the pathetic situation of the working class, the retirees, and the masses left much to be desired, while the Federal Government has refused to dialogue with the labour movement in good faith on efforts to cushion the agony and hardship being faced by the people.
Comrade Lafene then directed all workers in the state to fully participate in the two-day warning strike called by the NLC National Secretariat that would be observed between September 5 and 6, 2023, in preparation for the full-blown strike after the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum.