By our correspondent, with agency report
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Kogi chapter, has advised the state government against planned retrenchment of over 6,000 workers from the state civil service.
The advice is contained in a communique signed by the state Chairman of the NLC, Mr James Odaudu, and Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr J.O. Kolawole, at the end of a meeting of the organised labour in Lokoja at the weekend.
The communique said that the State Executive Council (SEC) of Labour in the state had resolved that rather than embarking on mass retrenchment, government should allow the Implementation Committee of the 2014 Ogunmola screening report to do its job.
The congress said the implementation committee’s job had been taken over by the state Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning Ministry and the Accountant General’s Office.
The communique said that any attempt by government to retrench the over 6,000 workers and removal of their names from pay vouchers as from December would be opposed.
“SEC in session, having noticed government’s plan to send away over 6,000 workers in Kogi State, hereby resolves that all workers in the state should reject salaries for the month of December, 2014, to protect the job security of our members,” the communiqué said.
The union reiterated its stance that failure of the government to do the necessary would affect the peaceful industrial relations in the state.
It also condemned the installmental payment of the 2013 leave bonus spread over a period of 10 months and wondered when government would commence the payment of 2014 annual leave bonus.
The Congress commended the support, cooperation and loyalty of members in 2014 and called for the sustenance, saying that much more was required of them in the years ahead.
The PDP Governors’ Forum (with Governor Idris Wada of Kogi state as a member) recently donated N1.05bn towards the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Some N21billion was raised on the night towards the President’s cause even though the Nigerian economy is in dire straits occasioned by the crash in global oil prices.
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