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George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Imo state workers have appealed to Governor Hope Uzodimma to pay them their three months salaries.
They lamented that non-payment of their salaries had compounded their plight in the face of the partial lockdown to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the state.
They noted that despite the directive if the governor that workers should be paid before the end of every month, they were yet to receive their salaries since February to April 2020.
In the address presented by the state chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Austin Chilakpu, the organised labour disclosed that workers in 19 parastatals and agencies were affected in the unpaid salaries.
Chilakpu listed the affected agencies where workers were owed three months salary arrears as: Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC), Agriculture Development Programme (ADP), Imo State Water Corporation, Imo State Poverty Alleviation Bureau, primary and secondary school teachers.
Others are Imo State University, Imo State Polytechnic, Imo State Library Board, Imo State Universal Basic Education Board, Imo State Secondary Education Board, Imo Tourism Board amongst others.
Chilakpu therefore called on Governor Uzodimma to direct the office of the Accountant General for the immediate release of the salaries of workers in the affected agencies and institutions, adding that the governor should direct the immediate payment of the April, 2020 to workers in the state to enable them cushion the effect of the continued of the lockdown.
NLC chairman also reminded Governor Uzodimma that workers in various agencies were owed promotion arrears from 2014 till date.
This, he said, had been one of the contentious issues between the organised labour and the previous administrations, calling on the governor to direct the agencies and institutions concerned to pay the workers their deserved promotion arrears.
The organised labour also lamented the withholding of check-off dues belonging to industrial unions by the state government to the tune of 46 months by some parastatals, saying that the non-payment of check-off dues were seriously affecting all industrial unions.
Chilakpu therefore appealed to Governor Uzodimma to direct the Accountant General to release the withheld check-off dues to the unions to enable the concerned unions to remit to their respective national headquarters.
