Laleye Dipo in Minna
Following the inability of some local government councils to pay the salaries of their workers as a result of the implementation of partial financial autonomy, the Niger State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has advised the state government to give special grants to urban local governments to enable them meet their financial obligations to their workers and the general public.
Only 10 out of the 25 local government councils in the state had been paying their workers salary as at when due since the partial implementation of local government autonomy in the state.
The situation has led to staff of two local governments in the state to embark on “sit at home” action when their employees could only pay their salaries in percentages.
The State Principal Assistant Secretary of the NUT, Mr. Labaran Garba, told newsmen in Minna yesterday that giving special grants to the urban local governments would solve the salary payment problems being faced by the councils.
Garba named some of the urban local governments in the state to include, Chanchaga, Bida, Suleija, Kontagora Agaie and Lapai and observed that these councils were overpopulated with workers resulting in their inability to meet their wage bills.
He said that some civil servants serving in the state capital often ensure that their wives, children and other relations were employed in these urban local governments, which has swelled the workforce in the councils and affects the wage bills negatively.
Garba strongly suggested that the practice should be stopped by ensuring that “top civil servants should retain their relations in their local government areas of origin.”
He also suggested that the practice of “replacement” of dead workers or those that retired should be stopped submitting that the regular procedure for recruitment of workers should always be adopted to stop the ghost workers syndrome in the name of “replacement of deceased or retired staff.
“The government should also stop inter local government transfer of workers especially from rural local governments to urban ones.”
Garba lamented the delay in the payment of teachers’ salaries by the local government councils and suggested that for industrial peace payment of “primary school teachers’ salaries should be made a first line charge.”
Meanwhile the union has thrown its full weight behind the “sit at home” action embarked upon by workers in two local governments in the state, namely Paikoro and Chanchaga.
The State Chairman of the NUT, Mr. Akayago Adamu Mohammed, told newsmen that the action of the protesting Llocal government workers “is a joint action by all workers of the NUT-NULGE, and Non-academic staff who are victims of circumstances that have made the local governments not to pay full salaries.”
Mohammed declared: “There is no clause for percentag payment of salaries in the agreement with our members, all we are saying is that government should pay us what is agreed upon in the employment letters of our members.”
