ULC Urges Kogi Government to Pay All Salary Arrears, Pensions

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The United Labour Congress (ULC) in Kogi has urged the state government to clear all salary arrears of its workers, and pensions and gratuity of pensioners without further delay.

The state’s Chairman of ULC, Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo, made the call at a program organised by the union to mark the Workers Day Celebration in Lokoja on Tuesday.

“It is no longer news that monies meant for payment of workers’ salaries, pensions and gratuities, have been directed for other selfish purposes thereby leaving our people to agonize in pain for months without getting their entitlements.

“Kogi is not an exception, in that, workers and pensioners having scaled through the hurdles of “verification exercise”, have their arrears not paid, in spite the huge quantum of cash inflow witnessed in the state in the last 28 months.

“The emergence of ULC is a direct response to the myriads of worsening national issues confronting Nigeria and the workers, and Kogi is never an exception.

“To that extent, ULC shall continue in our original purpose of service, protecting and projecting the interest and expectation of the workers in the state, both at the public and private sectors.

“We, therefore, call on the state government to without delay; pay up all arrears of salary, pension and gratuity as further delay can no longer be tolerated by labour movemen”, Eleojo said.

On the National minimum wage review, Eleojo said that the ULC has maintained its position of N96,000.00 as minimum wage of workers in Nigeria considering the present economic realities.

According to him, this can be witnessed in its presentation at the just concluced public hearing on National minimum wage review in each of the Geo-Political zones of the country.

He added that a survey conducted by ULC on workers’ wellbeing, revealed that a Nigerian worker spent a minimum of N72, 000 per month for feeding, clothing, school fees, transportation, among others.

“We want to use this occasion to appeal to all employers of labour in public and private sectors to respect rights of employees as stated in our labour Laws, International Labour Organization (ILO) protocols and Nigerian constitution.

“We want them to take workers’ welfare seriously and to treat them with dignity as anything short of this shall be resisted by us”, he said.

Eleojo, however urge Kogi government not to allow the Technical Education system in the state to die, saying government should rise to its responsibility to see to its resuscitation.

According to him, education is the corner stone of every nation’s development, and I believe it will go a long way in curbing youth restiveness and other social vices in the state.

He also urged the state government to invest more in the solid mineral and Agricultural potentials of the state, so as to generate employment for the growing ‘Army’ of unemployed youths.

“We shall not rest on our oars to see to the completion of the Ajaokuta Steel Company and the National Iron Ore Mining Company Itakpe within the shortest possible time.

“We shall partner with all the relevant stakeholders to bring this vision to fruition. The labour of our heroes past, shall not be in vain”, Eleojo said.

He urged the workers and the masses not to lose faith in the Labour Movement a the United Labour Congress in particular, saying “we shall not betray the trust given to us”.

According to Eleojo, ULC members includes: National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), NUPENG, NUBIFI, Aviation Workers Union, Steel & Engineering Workers Union (SEWU), Primary Healthcare Workers, National Union of Railway Workers, among others.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ULC members conducted a road walk along Government House in solidarity with the Kogi civil servants.

He noted that over 100 of their colleagues were recently sacked by the management of AEDC across Kogi, Nasarawa, FCT and Niger States, saying the union was already engaging the employer on the issue.


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