NLC asks: How come governors still loot but can’t pay workers?

Ayuba Wabba, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), says despite the inability of some governors to meet up with the demands of paying salaries, they have not stopped “looting” resources of their states.

Expressing grievances over the plight of workers, Wabba said salaries were not an allocation to workers, but remunerations earned in line with international best practices and in consonance with convention 138 of the International Labour Organisation.

He said NLC might be forced to declare a state of emergency over the non-payment of salaries, disclosing that congress would meet with all its state councils to encourage them to respond effectively to some of the challenges in the states.

The labour leader was speaking in Abuja on Thursday.

“Salaries of workers are not an allocation; therefore, the pronouncement by some of these governors, I think it is something that needs to be condemned,” he said.

“We are condemning it in strong terms; how much is N18,000?

“How much is the quantum of money that the governors are collecting and looting; let them compile it so that we can all see it. Political office holders are still collecting their money even though they are proposing the reduction; they are still collecting the security vote we are talking about and they are still issuing bogus contracts.

“Do not also forget, these workers need to leave a decent life and to work and provide such services.

“If you do not pay them or pay them half of their salary, how would they leave a decent life?

“How will these workers be able to take care of their immediate needs? We may declare a state of emergency in the area of non-payment of salaries and we are going to have a meeting with all our state councils to respond effectively to some of these challenges.

“We want to take stock of exactly what the issues are and we will also put appropriate employers on notice.

“We will declare a state of emergency because workers should not be made to bear the brunt of the challenges because they are not responsible. When the economy was good they did not enjoy, now that there is a challenge, they are the worst-hit, it should not be so; these are our arguments.”

He said most countries that had experienced economy recession, had to take all interests into consideration before deciding to either cut salaries or stop payment of workers.

Wabba advised governors not to cut or stop payment of salaries due to economy recession but rather fashion out ways of generating funds for their states.