Niger NLC set for show down over proposed salary reduction

Abubakar Sani Bello

The Niger state chapter of the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) have given the state government a two week ultimatum to reverse its 70 per cent salary proposal stating that only the payment of full salary can stop workers in the state from going on strike.

The Congress stated that there will be no shifting ground or going back until government pays the full salary of the workers.

This is coming after the state governor; Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello had proposed a reduction in the worker’s salary in a bid to meet up with infrastructural development in the state.

At a stakeholders meeting in Minna, the Governor proposed that 70 percent of the state earnings from federation allocation will be used to service workers salaries while the remaining 30 percent will be for capital projects.

The Niger state NLC Chairman, Comrade Idris Yahaya Ndako while addressing the congress of workers in Niger State Wednesday said that the proposal is unacceptable to Labor and Labor is not going to take it.

He added that it was unfortunate that those who contributed to defrauding Niger State in the past administration had the right to call for the payment of workers’ salaries by percentage.

“It is unfortunate the comment of the former Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly who was in PDP and part of the people who caused the problem to come out and say that workers should be paid on percentage.

“The proposal is unacceptable and Labor is not going to take it. There is no going back, no shifting ground until government pays full salary to the workers.”

During a stakeholders meeting held in Minna, the state Governor disclosed that the state has incurred over N3 billion loan to meet up with the payment of workers’ salaries due to the drop in the federal allocation received by the state.

The Governor then proposed that 70 percent of the state earnings from federation allocation should  be used to service workers’ salaries while the remaining 30 percent will be for capital projects  arguing that government cannot afford to use the entire resources of the state in paying salary of the civil service at the expense of infrastructural development.