Public complaints commission staff insist on strike

Staff of Public Complaints Commission (PCC) have vowed not to end their ongoing industrial action until the management pays all the outstanding salaries owed them.

Chairman of the joint staff union of the Commission, Ogunyando Joshua, who spoke on the industrial action, demanded reduction in the number of the commissioners in the commission from 38 to seven, insisting that Duty Tour Allowances (DTA) and salaries of the commissioners were outrageous.

Noting that the commission would be saving over N500 million yearly if the number of its commissioners were pruned, he disclosed that no staff had been paid in full since January this year.

Ogunyando urged government to inject technocrats and administrators into the commission.

He said: “The cost of maintaining them is much more than their salaries: their meeting allowance, their DTA and all the rest. Imagine that in the last administration, each commissioner claimed N17 million for their meeting; that is quite alarming, this is close to N1 billion in a year

“Well, we are still watching the National Assembly. We met with them and they promised to meet with all the stakeholders: the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, management of the PCC and the National Assembly itself. So, we are waiting for their resolution after the meeting.”