By Suleiman Isah, Minna
Workers in the twenty five Local government area of Niger state including teachers in primary school are to forfeit 20% of their March 2020 salaries to be used as palliative to assist the most vulnerable in the society due to the on going lockdown to fight the Coronavirus pandemic
The decision was taken after a tripartite meeting between the 25 local government council chairmen, officials of the National Union of Local Government Employees, Nigeria Union of Teachers and the Medical and Allied Workers Union.
AUTHORITY gathered the The local government chairman and the workers agreed to forfeit 20 percent because of the suffering many communities have been thrown in to ìn the last ten days of the lockdown of the state by government
According to the state chairman of the association for local government employees of Nigeria ìn the state mallam Ibrahim Mohammed said the meeting agreed that only 80% of salaries should be paid to workers with part of the agreement also being to first pay the 20% before any deduction during the April salaries.
He also said ‘ the state government is already overwhelmed with financial burdens since the out break of the COVID 19, there is therefore the need for us to look for ways of sourcing for funds to contain the spread and provide palliative for the people”.
Though the workers have kicked against the 20% deduction and went into a marathon meeting with medical and health workers union, the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employers (NULGE), the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Niger state and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) Niger state were it was unanimously agreed to reject the decision.
The aggrieved workers had through a letter dated 31st March, 2020 and signed by Comrade Kabiru Yakubu, the secretary of the Joint union called on the supervisory ministry of the local government area of ìn the state to directed that henceforth no branch Chairman or his representative should signed any agreement with any council chairman .
