The Ebonyi State Government has set up a 35-man committee headed
by a former governor of the state, Sam Egwu, to settle the crisis between it
and labour unions over the payment of salaries in the state.
Governor
Dave Umahi set up the committee during a stakeholders’ forum he convened to
highlight the state’s financial position, a statement by his Chief Press
Secretary, Emma Anya, said on Tuesday.
Umahi
noted that the state’s allocation had dropped to an abysmal level as a result
of the drop in oil prices.
“We are
not at war with our workers; in the next two years, we shall turn Ebonyi to a
success story. We are evaluating the salaries of our civil servants. About 662
fake workers and 20 non-existent schools have been uncovered in the
state.Schools are in a sorry state and we will do empirical evaluations of the
schools and hand them over to the missionaries,” Umahi was quoted as saying
during the summit.
The
governor said the drop in revenue demands that the state borrow an average
of N500m every month to pay salaries.
Umahi
promised to abide by the decisions of the committee.
The
governor, however, said by comparing the salary structure of other South-East
states with that of Ebonyi, the demands of the labour unions were ‘strange’.
The
Nigeria Labour Congress Chairman in the state, Mr. Ikechukwu Nwafor, said
though the workers were ready to make sacrifices, the payment of the existing
50 per cent salary structure would improve workers’ welfare.
Egwu
urged the governor and the workers to work out modalities that would ensure an
equitable compromise.
He
said, “We have a very serious situation but I know Ebonyi indigenes will be
ready to make sacrifices. The government has the responsibility of paying
salaries and developing infrastructure and workers have a right to their wages.
We, therefore, need to strike a balance.”
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