Governmental activities were paralysed, on Monday, in all the 17 local government areas of Plateau State as the council workers under the aegis of Tripartite Workers Union embarked on a protest against the non-implementation of financial autonomy and the 18 per cent minimum wage by the State Government.
Tribune Online findings revealed that the workers as early as, 8:00 am arrived at various local government secretariats across the state, shut the gates to prevent Chairmen and other top government officials from accessing their offices.
They carried placards with various inscriptions denouncing the government for it’s lackadaisical posture to their plight and as well as chanting solidarity songs and barring any official or visitor from gaining access to the building.
The aggrieved workers under the tripartite Union are Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM).
Speaking in an interview, the Plateau State Tripartite Union Chairman, Mr Arandong Makwin, said that the statewide protest was embarked upon a sequel to failure of the State Government to meet “our demands before the Oct. 30 ultimatum.”
“Sequel to our meeting held on 0ct. 4 at Barkin Ladi, we resolved that the state government should immediately commence the full implementation of financial autonomy, promotion and payment of arrears, 18 per cent minimum wage and annual increment.
ALSO READ: Nigeria must address poor reading culture ― National Librarian
“Others include remittance of 10 per cent IGR to local governments by the state as provided by law, 15 per cent of teachers’ salaries from local governments instead of the 100 per cent being deducted as stipulated by law and payment of salaries on/before 25th of every month.
“As we speak, nobody from the government has said anything about our letter of ultimatum dated Oct. 4 nor called us for a discussion.
“Consequently, we decided to stage this protest all over the 17 local governments to press home our demands, which if not met, nobody will be allowed to enter the Secretariats including the chairmen,” Makwin said.
He said the workers had suffered enough due to the non-implementation over the years, saying, “this time around, we are saying no to it as we need the best of welfare as our dues.”
According to him, “This protest will continue until the government meets our demands.”
The State Commissioner of Information, Mr Dan Manjang, said that the state government was taken aback by the action of the local government workers and accused them of being unfair to Gov. Simon Lalong’s administration which he said, had a human face.
Manjang said the government was doing it’s best in looking into the worker’s demands toward addressing them for industrial harmony and for the desired growth and development in the state.
“We are appealing to the aggrieved and protesting local government workers to sheath their swords and allow us to look into and address their plights.
” There is no wisdom in grounding the machinery of government and still expect it to have the expected resources to address your demands.
”We are appealing to them to call off their protest and strike and allow us to sit at a round table to resolve our differences, ” he said.
and then