Wabba said that NLC held a
meeting with the state councils, where they took inventory of the liability of
pension, gratuity and salaries, adding that the data was alarming.
The Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC) says all state councils where salary liabilities of up to three months
exist will apply no pay, no work’ rule.
NLC President Ayuba Wabba
made this known when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum on
Sunday in Abuja.
“We have given instructions
to all of our state councils that where there is liability of salary up to
three months, they should also apply the rule of `no pay, no work’ it is not
only `no work, no pay’.
“You can also apply the
rule in a reverse order of `no pay, no work’ and that is legitimate because the
law provides that after 30 days of working, the worker is entitled to be paid.
“How can we encourage
people that have put in their best or even those that are still in the system
trying to put in their best without addressing this very fundamental issue?
“Those are the situations
we have found ourselves across states and across different employments; I feel
very sad with that situation but I think we will do all we can within our means
and power to try to continue to protect all those workers.’’
He said that workers must
be seen as an asset to our county instead of shifting all the challenges to the
workers.
“The challenges have been
there; instead of looking inward to try to address these challenges, the bulk
of the issue have been shifted to the workers and that is why I think that you
can effectively say that yes these workers are under attack.’’
“When you see the data of
how much it stands today of liabilities that workers have not been paid, the
worst is that of gratuity which some states have a liability of up to 10 years.
“Workers have worked for 30
or 35 years in service; they retired following the normal process but yet after
retirement, they were not paid a dime.
“Therefore, it is like they
were slaves; It is only slave that will work and not be paid his entitlement.
He decried a situation
where the political leaders do not see the payment of workers’ salaries as
important but rather they see it as a waste.
The president noted that
some governors would prefer to award bogus contracts rather than pay workers
their wages.
He noted that everywhere in
the world workers were seen and placed appropriately for them to contribute
their quota.
According to him, due to
the neglect and non-payment of workers’ salaries, productivity has been at the
lowest point.
(NAN)
Fair enough
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