Abuja, NIGERIA — The Trade Union Congress, (TUC), on Tuesday, warned the Federal Government, with immediate effect, to pay all federal civil servants their N35,000 wage award, as agreed during a meeting, after the removal of fuel subsidies.
The TUC President, Festus Osifo, at a briefing in Abuja, after its National Executive Meeting, said it had in good authority that workers had only received the one month meant for September, and that only a few workers had been paid for the second.
Osifo also warned all 36 State Governments across the country and the Federal Capital Territory, to “tighten” their belts, to assuage the plight of workers, occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidies, to avoid a fresh crisis in the country.
Osifo said, “On the issue of the wage award, it is on record that the payment has been made just once for September, but as it is now, our members in the federal civil service have not been paid the ₦35,000 wage award since October.
“We wish to call on the government to fastrack all the payments now. We learnt that they’re putting some things in place to ensure the payment, but people are not ready to listen to excuses.
“We demand that they immediately pay this ₦35,000 wage award to the bank accounts of the federal civil servants without excuses.
“We want the government to tighten their belts, governments at all levels – the Federal Government, the state and local governments because a situation where they are asking Nigerians to keep tightening their belt and they (government officials) are living in affluence is not acceptable.”
The TUC said, the Head of Service of The Federation, Folasade Yemi Esan, has ignited a fire, by pushing a memo to regulate the tenure of union leaders for two years.
The TUC said the Minister of Labour must not submit the amended labour laws to the Executive Council of the Federation, until he has adequately involved the labour centres.
The TUC also said that following efforts to unionise workers, five new affiliates have joined the Labour Centre, and they include the Congress of Nigerian Academics, CONUA, the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics, NAMDA, the Law Officers Association of Nigeria, LOAN, the National Butchers Employers Union of Nigeria, NABEUN, and the Associations of Telecommunication, Information Technology, Cable, Satellite Network Operators, and Allied Services Employers of Nigeria, ATITCSOASEN.