Cross Rivers civil servants protest early payment of May salary

Civil servants in Cross River State have protested the payment of May salary on the first day of the month by Governor Ben Ayade.

Ayade had consistently paid the May salary on the first day of the month in the last three years of his tenure.

But speaking to journalists, the state chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Clarkson Otu, said workers and the leadership of labour were unhappy over the early payment of salary.

According to the labour leader, even though the government means well, labour was nonetheless not happy with the situation.

“As labour leaders, we do not support early salaries payment. We have told the governor that it is not proper. April salary was paid only last week and on May 1st he pays May salary.

“We are surprised he still paid early this month in spite of our protest. We will continue to engage him on that,” he said.

Speaking in a similar vein, the state Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Ben Ukpepi, decried the early payment of salaries by the state government.

Ukpepi said labour would engage with the governor with a view to putting an end to early payments of salaries in the state.

Meanwhile, Ayade has expressed his administration’s readiness to implement the new minimum wage recently passed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking through the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Tina Agbor at the May Day rally in Calabar, Ayade pledged to pay the new wage once the modalities were worked out.

In spite of the state receiving one of the least revenue allocations from the federation account and being the third most indebted state, Ayade always pay civil servant early.