was not
owing any worker, thus prompting the Public Service Negotiating Council, Abia
State branch to find out the truth. In this interview, state Chairman, Public
Service Negotiating Council, Abia State, Comrade Chris Ndubuisi Okoro expressed
his anger over the matter, spiting fire that his council will not take it
kindly. Excerpts: What is your reaction to recent reports in the media
about the debt profile of the state? Actually, I am not too comfortable with
the report attributed to the state Accountant General that Abia State is not
owing workers any salaries and that has made me to summon council meeting as
the Chairman of Public Service Negotiating Council. We have taken a decision on
how to investigate his claims that Abia state is not owing. This is because we
know that parastatals and some other agencies are on salary arrears ranging
from three to seven months, as the case may be. So we have decided to set
machineries in motion to investigate all the heads of parastatals to know if
the claim of the Accountant General of Abia State is the truth. If it is not,
we will now react aggressively. Our reaction will not be palatable because, we
would not want to be messed up. And if it is true, we will react aggressively
to the Head of parastatals because you cannot suffer people that are producing
the money. How can a person work for seven months without being paid, he
has children in the school, he pays rent, even if you have a house of your own,
there are other expenditures you are making as a human being. All of us are
buying in the same market. What I am saying is that if whatever be the outcome,
we are not going to listen to anybody because this claim is so painful the way
we are dealing with ourselves, we are cheating and punishing ourselves. The
Heads of parastals are workers and they are earning their salaries. So how can
they be enjoying and the people are suffering? We will not take it. As part of
the negotiation team, can you tell us the wage bill and debt profile of the
state? I don’t want to go into the debt profile and the wage bill of the state,
but all I know is that the state is comfortable enough to pay its workers. I know
that for solong, the state has not employed any new worker. We are under the
Niger Delta, we have the federal allocation, we have the 33% derivation from
the federation and we have the internally generated revenue. Abia state never
at any point of discussion, let us, the Labour leaders, know that their wage
bill is higher than their income or that their income is less than their wage
bill. They never told us and I don’t want to go there, but all I know is that
we want to know who is right, who is saying the truth? If it is the government
of Abia State that is telling the truth that they have done their statutory
requirement to parastatals we will hold the heads of parastatals responsible
and they will never escape it. It is better they resign and run away from Abia
State because, the action we would take would never be palatable. But if it is
government, and the Accountant General is giving us false information, we shall
not smile with him any longer. Related Story : Abia: Orji Inaugurates
Committee To Appraise PDP’s Performance What is your reaction to reports
attributing the debt of the state to wasteful spending and insensitivity of
past administration and plight of its workers? I don’t want to agree with that
notion. If there is any expenditure, I was not involved in the expenditure to
know if it was very wasteful. Where is the wasteful aspect of it? If it is huge
expenditure, we have not been told. The problem we are talking about now is
that as a chairman, Public Service Joint Negotiating Council, Abia State has
not told us why they are owing and now that the Accountant General has told us
that they are not even owing at all, that is why we should now go in and
confirm the truth. I know that during the past years, it has not been
pronounced that statutory payments or allocations have been made and the heads
of parastatals failed to perform their duties. We have not been told because
before now those offices would not have been functioning. We would not allow
the head of such parastatals to go untouched because you cannot eat peoples’
money and go free. At what point did the state government complain about
shortfalls and if so, what was it like? Do you also think that the wage bills
in neighbouring states is higher than that of Abia State? When you ask of wage
bill, I said I don’t want to go there because it is a sick person that will
require the attention of the Physician. Abia State never mentioned anything to
us on the problem of wage bill. I led the negotiation of the minimum wage as a
chairman of Public Service Negotiating Council. Everything about the wage,
salary and benefits of the workers is on my table. I must need it. I lead it. I
know the income because I demanded from January to June the income of Abia
State, I mean federal allocation and I did not even care much about it because
I know that at that time, the state IGR was on N1 billion. As at the time of
our negotiation, our IGR was on N1billion. So I don’t know from where my friend
is quoting N500, 000.00. The negotiation of minimum wage was in 2013 and our
IGR then was N1 billion. So I say the issue of wage bill is not the matter
because if it is the matter before now, the government would have made it clear
to us. The wage bill was negotiated based on our (state) income and that was
why the two parties signed it and was approved by His Excellency. I know that
the governor would not sign a wage bill that is higher than his own (state)
income. He cannot do that. He was very comfortable with what he signed as the
minimum wage. So nobody should come and deceive us on anything now. Before now,
government always talk about padding of salaries……. (Interjecting) What are
they padding? The government accusing civil servants of padding salaries; Do
you think it is real? It is absolutely not real. Why I said it is that It is
only in Abia State that I know that it is only the executive governor of the
state that approves employment. I was in Benue State, I have toured the whole
country almost, but in Abia State, it was where even the head of that
parastatal or head of that establishment cannot employ without the approval of
the governor. So what are they talking about padding of salaries? It is
absolutely not applicable in Abia State because the governor monitors closely,
anybody that will be employed. There is no employment in the state that the
governor is not aware of, unless may be in the local governments. But I know
that in the state, even for the employment of teachers, in everything, the
governor must give you a waiver and if there is any waiver, it must come from
the government and no other person. So how do we talk about ghost workers? The
problem of Abia is never anything like ghost workers. I think somebody is
causing problem somewhere. So that is what we, the Joint Negotiating Council is
going to investigate within the shortest period. Related Story : Delta
tribunal decides Okowa fate next Tuesday After the investigation, don’t you
feel that you may be accused of being used by the opposition to cause trouble
in the state? Yes, that is the problem we have been having in the state. If you
want to work the way you are supposed to work, your name will be tagged and to
avoid being tagged, you start trying to balance and dodging from such a name
that is not yours and things will not be going fine. The present governor of
the state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has never cared to know if there is Labour in the
state or not. But he should know that we are controlling not less than 40-45%
of the population. If we say he will not sleep, he will not sleep. If there is
any problem, we have three arms of Labour. If there is any problem in one of
the arms, it will not deter the reputation and integrity of the other arms.
Joint council is the umbrella that is holding the TUC (Trade Union Council) and
the NLC (Nigeria Labour Congress). These two bodies are my members. So how can
you say there is problem in the union when there is no problem in the Joint
Council? I think that it is only a problem in the Joint Council that can be
regarded as a serious problem in the labour end of the state. NLC is a private
sector labour arm, but this Joint Council is in partnership with the
government. From the federal, the Head of the federal service is the chairman
on the government side. Then when you come to the state, the Head of Service,
Godwin Adiele is the chairman on the government side. Comrade Chris Okoro is
the chairman, Trade Union side. It is this body that can now direct information
on the affairs of the government and that of workforce because we work in
partnership. As partners in progress, I believe they direct the affairs of the
workers. Even though some people say “there is no time”, I belief that even if
it is the chairman and his secretary, the new governor tells: ‘I want to see
you. Endure with me, later I will expand our invitation, but it is not that I
have forgotten you’. But till today, he is yet to call us. We voted for him and
wanted him to be our governor, but it will not deter him to recognize the
people that will work with him. Now, there is speculation that there is no money
in the state but the governor is building roads. Is it not a living person that
will walk on the road? How are we now to convince workers that His Excellency
doesn’t have money? If they have saved money to build roads, they cannot save
money to pay workers. How do we defend this type of issue if he doesn’t address
us on how he came about that money? Now, any day we shut down every office he
will now say the All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA) has used us, or All
Progressives Congress, (APC) has used us. But we are not afraid of what the
people will call us. One thing I know in my leadership is that I exhaust all
patience and when it has expired, it has expired. Like what took place at the
office of the Accountant General last time over our check-off dues, I kept
going, talking to him as if he was owing me personal money, as if I am a worker
under him, or living in his house and that I am talking about how to eat. It is
good you recognize a person on his merit. The governor should recognize that we
have not known him. We cannot know him on the screen. He should call us and
tell us how we are going to administer Abia so that we will be able to convey
it back to our members. Like this insinuation on road construction, we will be
able to say, no, this is what has happened. The matter is that the government
is yet to tell us, although the Accountant General has told us now that they
are doing their own part. Let us go into the investigation. If we find out that
they are doing their own part, any parastatal that is not functional, either it
will be removed or we privatize it and people who will function very well will
take over. Related Story : Jonathan Not Involved in OPC Protest - PDP With
your intervention, workers may feel you have been settled. What will you tell
the workers now? If you are a father, they say uneasy lies the head that wears
the crown. If I start being so naïve or being so afraid of what my comrades
will say and allow problem to come up, I don’t think it is the best way. The
most important thing is for you to maintain peace, allow peace to reign.
Whatever name they call you, God is there to vindicate you. It is not today
that they have been saying, you have been given this, you have been given that,
but if you come close, you know that, like if I am going to find this
newspaper, it is going to come from my salary. I want you to understand that
even the last NWC we attended at Abuja, is the responsibility of the Government
to sponsor. We have written, but till today, not one kobo was received,
we have not even received any approval letter, meaning we went to Abuja, spent
several days and came back with feeding and hotel accommodation at our own
expense. Should the massive road construction going on in the state now by the
new governor wait till the issue of workers salaries is addressed? I don’t want
to say it should wait. They have a plan and a way they are going about that and
they know they have workers to pay every month and there is no way we can say,
pay workers and never do any other job. Abia wage bill is not even up to that
level. Let us be factual. It is not up to that level. So whatever they are
doing, let them do it but the responsibility and the statutory right of every
worker should be met. That is our own position. It is for the government to
take the decision on what to do. If they think that they cannot continue with
the road construction and pay workers, then let them take a decision on what to
do but workers must be paid because it is a monthly statutory right. Having
come this far, what is the way forward and what is your advice on the salaries?
As I said earlier, we have set machineries in motion and it is in top gear.
After our investigations, whatever be the outcome, workers will hear it and I
know that and pray that there will be no casualty because there will be a
serious problem. We are not going to take it again from both sides, either the
government or the heads of parastatals. On the government side, it is as if
they are deceiving us. They have told lies. From the parastatals side, it is a
case of us chasing a ghost and one comes to say I am smelling ghost. We are not
going to take it easy. This pronouncement of the Accountant General, if
investigated and the outcome will be known and felt by everybody in Abia State,
unless before the investigation they pay us. Because we don’t have any other
business doing. Abia workers, unpaid salaries
Read more
at:
http://dailytimes.com.ng/abia-workers-to-set-the-state-on-fire-over-unpaid-salaries/
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