AS civil servants in Bayelsa join in celebrating workers day, the organized labour chairmen has loaded the state government with barrage of demands and malaise militating high productivity in the service.
This is contained in a joint statement of the organized labour delivered by the Chairman of the State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade John Ndiomu at the peace park in Yenagoa.
He regretted the salaries arrears owed civil servants and called on government to ensure it is paid, not just from the Paris club refund, but also from the federal allocation to the state.
Describing the civil service as the engine room of government, Ndiomuurged the government to build a befitting public training institute to promote training and re-training of work ethics and skills to produce desire results in governance.
He decried the bedrock of education in taters in the state and called on the government to salvage the deterioration, particularly the untold hardship primary schools teachers were subjected to due to unpaid salaries.
Continuing, he called for the conversion of the state college of arts and science to a state polytechnic to enable it access funds held down owing to the limited status of the college.
The Labour leaders also called for the accreditation of courses in the State College of Health Technology, Otuogidi in Ogbia council, as well as programmes offered at the Isaac Jasper Boro College of Education, and the reinstatement of staff of SUBEB erroneously affected by the 2013 verification exercise.
The organized labour stressed the need for security within the schools premises to prevent theft of government properties in the newly built boarding schools, constituencies’ schools and in colleges and universities premises.
Ndiomu urged the government to pay media workers weigh-in and radiation allowances, even as he stressed the need for a befitting structure to house the state owned newspaper corporation christened “New Waves”.
He however called on the government to improve salaries and allowances to the fire service corporation in the state in view of the essential services they perform in society.
Responding, the State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John
Jonah (retd), said government usually plan to cater for long term benefit, and assured government would clear the salaries backlog owed workers as soon as it receives the second tranche of the Paris club refund.
He noted that call for councils’ autonomy should be with caution as the state still supports councils in paying teachers’ salaries, even as he pointed that government will come up with a ratio within limited available resource to continue to support councils in the state.
Jonah pointed that government is setting an education safety corps to ensure safety in education environment in the state, just as he pointed that government would revamp the operation of the state security outfit christened “Operation Door Akpo”. Continuing, he noted that motorcycle security would also be deployed to areas that could not be accessed by vehicles, to ensure that there is no safe haven for criminals in the state.
To this end, Jonah reiterated that whatever government is not providing isn’t deliberate, because government is working within the limit of available resource to provide better welfare for its workforce.
In a related development, the Industrial Relation Officer of State Chapter of Pengessan, Benson Inifie urged government to evolve sensitization programmes for the youths in the state, and the need to be friendly with its workforce.
He called for infrastructural upgrade in the state and the need for government to be prompt in paying workers’ salaries because it is only workers with sound mind and health that are productive.
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