Imo workers issue 21-day ultimatum over unpaid salaries

Workers in the Imo state have issued a 21-day ultimatum to government over the non-payment of their salaries in full.

The workers said they are not comfortable with the 70/30 per cent payment arrangement entered with the Imo State government.

The workers argued that the finances of the state had improved appropriately to cater for them as statutorily required in the Financial Regulations book of the civil service.

If the issues raised in the ultimatum are not addressed in the next three weeks, workers told the state government to prepare to see a serious protest that will ground activities in the state.

This was disclosed in Owerri, the Imo State capital by the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Austin Chilakpu.

According to Chilakpu, the state government should use the state’s share from the Paris Club loans refund to pay workers their full salary and entitlements.

Workers had February last year struck a deal with the state government after protests, to pay them 70 per cent of the total earnings accruing to the state government’s coffers, while the state government should take 30 per cent of the total – monthly federal allocation and internally generated revenue.

Chilakpu said the decision of the organized labour – NLC and the Trade Union Congress – was taken after their meeting, adding that the TUC state chairman, Paul Akalazu, was also present.

According to him, the union condemned the treatment meted to the retirees by the state government opting to pay about 29 per cent of their total pension, with a form asking each to signed that they were not owed after collecting cheque.

He also said that the union also gave the state government same period to recall all the workers sacked by Imo Transport Company (ITC), under the management of one Ginikana Group of Companies, which is unknown to the union, adding that their salary should be paid to them with immediate effect.

On the sacked directors in the state Ministries, the central labour body, he said demanded that they be recalled and paid.