FG owing workers over N290bn salary, promotion arrears —Labour

Nigerian Organised Labour has revealed in Geneva, Switzerland, at the ongoing 106th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) that the Federal Government is owing its workers N290 billion in promotion allowances arrears and arrears of shortfall of salaries.

The Secretary General, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Comrade Bashir Alade Lawal, while addressing journalists during the ILC session, said the indebtedness was dated back to 2007 when the Federal Government had failed to pay its workers shortfall of salary and promotion arrears.

However, in his response, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said the present government had taken steps and initiated payment before he left home for the annual ILC in Geneva.

Ngige pointed out that while N14.6 billion had been expended in the area of shortfall of salaries, N10 billion was already being processed before he left Nigeria for the conference.

Comrade Lawal said the Federal Government was not sincere on the issue of the payment, adding that it was an irony that the Federal Government would give a bailout to the state governments to pay the salaries and arrears of their workers while leaving that of their workers unpaid.

He warned that the workers were now restive and the leadership might not be able to control them anymore, as the situation in many federal ministries and parastatal agencies were getting out of control.

“If you look at the entire problem, you will agree that government is not sincere with workers. This indebtedness is dated back to 2007, and you want to imagine that workers who are working are being promoted as at when due but government is refusing to pay them their promotion arrears. Somebody that has been promoted from level 8 to 9, from 9 to 10, from 10 to 12 and so on is still earning level 8 salary because the employer, which is the Federal Government has refused to do the right thing. So, this issue has brought this arrears to N290 billion,” he said.

Insisting that the Federal Government was insincere, he said: “The insincerity of the Federal Government is demonstrated in the first instance, when the Federal Government gave out the bailout funds to states totalling about N734 billion. The Federal Government took 52.2 per cent of the amount as a result of the revenue sharing formula. Then, the states took their shares.

“The Federal Government is asking the states to use their shares to pay arrears of workers’ salaries. But the Federal Government took its share and diverted it into other use without using it to pay salaries. That is the height of insincerity. So, now the Federal Government has accepted that there is a problem,” he said.

Warning on the danger ahead if the situation is not addressed immediately, Lawal said: “As I speak with you, the situation is much tensed, workers are very restive and no labour leader can guarantee that the situation will not go out of hand. We are just trying to manage the situation knowing some of the other challenges facing the country.”

He, however, expressed the belief that the recent efforts by the National Assembly, labour and the executive arm of government would resolve the issue and forestall imminent crisis, adding that labour and the National Assembly had offered a window to be utilised to address the issue of N290 billion debt.

The minister also assured, in his reaction, that as soon as he got home, the government would go into bond market for funds to offset all the arrears.

“We have taken step and initiated payment in that same direction. Before I left home, N10 billion was already being processed for promotion allowances arrears. Before I left home, N14.6 billion had been expended in the areas of shortfall of salaries and as we go back home, we have other machinery and plans to even go into bond market and get some funds to offset all these arrears,” Ngige said.