Workers’ salaries: Kogi TUC threatens mass protest

The Trade Union Congress (TUC), Kogi State, on Monday, threatened to embark on mass protest over the alleged failure of the state government to pay workers’ salaries and honour the agreement reached with the congress.

The congress has, therefore, sensitised its members across the 21 local government areas of the state for the protest predicated on the decision of government to open salary accounts for workers without their consent.

Speaking at the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the congress, the state chairman of TUC, Ranti Ojo, also directed members not to open a new salary account with the designated banks.

According to him, the directive that workers should open new salary accounts with the Access Bank and Zenith Bank, had pitched the workers against the government, saying the development had further compounded the situation of  workers.

He said the organised labour was not convinced of the reasons being canvassed by some government functionaries to justify the action, saying government hinged  its  argument on the fact that the banks were the ones that made the money available.

The TUC chairman added that labour had faulted another argument by government that the two designated banks has some devices that could further detect the status of any civil servant on government payroll.

The congress argued that opening new bank accounts for  workers for the purpose of salary, was wrong as many of the workers already had business arrangements and commitments with their banks.

The workers also faulted the public display of their Bank Verification Number (BVN), saying it had exposed them to fraud and other nefarious activities.

Ojo said; “It is not too late  for them to retrace their steps by allowing the designated banks to pay directly into the existing salary accounts of individual civil servants domiciled in different banks in the state.

“In addition, we are directing all civil servants, including staff of both the TSC and STTEB to put urgent stop to future patronage of these two banks for the purpose of opening any salary account as canvassed by the state government”.