NLC wants Borno to step up verification of 19, 700 workers

The Borno state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has appealed to the state government to step up the ongoing verification of workers so as to pay salaries of civil servants in services of the state.NLC State Chairman, Ali Abana, while speaking with newsmen on Monday, in Maiduguri, said the capturing of data (bio-metric exercise) of workers by Borno State government was taking a longer time and denying workers from receiving their July and August salaries.

Abana said the labour union would continue to pursue the welfare of workers in the state until their demands are met.“We are calling on the state government as a matter of great concern and with the burning issue of insurgency biting on the workers, to pay workers their salaries to ease their sufferings and hardships,” he said.

He said the call became necessary as the Muslim festival; Eid-Kabir draws nearer, adding that workers are experiencing hardship with non-payment of salary.He appealed to the state government not to use the ongoing verification and bio-metric exercise as alibi for delay in the payment.

He said that government can pay workers who have completed their data capturing while the exercise continued.His words: “The verification exercise should not be used as excuse against workers. We should not be exposed to severe hardship when there are other states where government is paying while verification is going on,” he said.

He noted that the union was not opposed to the bio-metric exercise but was insisting on payment of salaries to workers who have concluded their verification.“What the verification committee is doing has received the full support of the Borno NLC and allied unions or workers, but we want the exercise done with care.”

Borno State government last week insisted it would not pay salaries until the completion of the bio-metric exercise and verification of workers.“No workers will be paid unless the verification and bio-metric exercise are completed. Any other workers; that has not been verified remains as ghost worker,” Yakubu Bukar, Borno Head of the Civil Service.