Kogi organized labour threatens industrial unrest over half salaries

The organised labour in Kogi state has threatened industrial unrest should the state government fail to pay the July 2017 salaries of workers in full on or before September 12.

The unions comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Public Sector Joint Negotiation Council (PSJNC), in a bulletin issued yesterday in Lokoja described the half salaries paid to state and local government workers as “Sallah gift”.

The organised labour argued that the claim by the state government that it could not pay full salaries to workers due to shortfall in allocations from the federation account was not tenable.

The unions said the state government had earlier at a meeting with labour leaders put the monthly wage bill at N3.1 billion but later brought it down to N2.6 billion following the observations raised by the organised labour.

“Comrades, if the N2.6 billion being quoted now by government as July 2017 wage bill is sacrosanct, and if the monthly allocation that accrued to the State from the Federation Account without the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) shared in the month of August 2017 stands as N2.6 billion as presented to the organised labour during the said meeting on this matter, we then wish to ask why the percentage payment of salary even when government could further access some funds from its IGR for other government expenditure(s)?”