Government, yesterday, warned governors against reducing the remunerations and hours of work of workers. The warning came against the backdrop of actions of Imo and Benue state governments to compel workers in their employ to work for some days and go to the farm for other days of the week.
While Imo asked its workers to work in offices for three days of the week and go to farm for the remaining two days, Benue set aside Fridays as the day for all civil servants to go to the farm, as part of efforts to reduce wage bills and diversify their economies through agriculture. Besides, Imo State government also cut the monthly salary of civil servants in the state by 30 per cent, all in a bid to cut recurrent cost. Similarly, Nasarawa State government had been at loggerheads with its workers over months of unpaid salaries, which culminated in the killing of two workers as civil servants protested at Government House, Lafia, a few weeks ago.
Incidentally, the three are all All Progressives Congress, APC-controlled states. But the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who spoke on behalf of the government, said the action of the governors was illegal and asked them to reverse their decisions. Ngige in a statement issued by Samuel Olowokere, Deputy Director Press in the ministry, said the warning was necessary to restore industrial harmony and forestall breakdown of law and order.
He said the warning followed protracted industrial crisis involving the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and Nasarawa State government, particularly, which led to the nationwide protests on Tuesday, as workers rallied in solidarity with their counterparts in Nasarawa.
The minister said the step was pursuant to the powers invested in him by Section 5(1) and (2) of the Trade Dispute Act, Laws of Nigeria, 2004. He said this was also predicated on a letter to him by Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State for the ministry to help resolve labour crisis in the state. Ngige said all parties were invited for a crucial meeting, yesterday, at the Ministry of Labour to resolve the issues.