BY CELESTINE IHEJIRIKA / JALINGO
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Workers under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Taaraba State Council, have called on the state governor, Agbu Kefas to offset the four months union dues estimated at over N1 billion in the interest of peace.
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Chairman of the State NLC, Comrade Peter Jediel made the appeal at the workers’ May Day anniversary held in Jalingo.
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While appreciating the governor for implementation and payment of a new national minimum wage of N70,000, the Labor leader expressed delight that the present administration hasld also impacted much in the area of security, education, agriculture, health, women and youths development among others.
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Jediel urged the governor to also consider addressing major issues bordering workers and the retirees with a view to reducing the socio-economic challenges facing them.
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On its part, the State Chairman, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Sule Abasu called for government to provide vehicle for the union so as to facilitate their daily activities, pointing out that the union is constrained by absence of mobility for operations.
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He also called on the state government to look into the problem of outstanding check off dues, welfare and multipurpose deduction, which he said were not remitted by previous administrations.
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In a remark, Taraba State Head of Service, Dr. Hamidu Ahmed Kara while admonishing workers in the state, said governor kefas remains steadfast in its obligation to improving the welfare of all workers.
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According to him, the governor has improved public service delivery through digitalization, ensuring that no worker is left behind.
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“Government has prioritized timely payment of salaries, pension, gratuities for career advancement and has institutionalized dialogue with labor unions as partners in development not advisories”, he said.
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The Head of Service further highlighted some achievements recorded by Governor Kefas in the period under review which included: training the retraining of political/public office holders and civil servants across all disciplines, implementation of N30,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, October 2023, and implementation of N70,000 new minimum wage in November 2024 as well as reduction of school fees by 50% in all tertiary institutions in the state and introduction of running cost for secondary schools among others.
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In a goodwill message, a retired civil servant, Comrade Wilfred Habuba Kwanchi disclosed that till date some retired workers in the state are still collecting N4,000 as monthly pension salary, a situation he called on the government to intervene.
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Meanwhile the state governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas has commended workers in the state for peaceful disposition.
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The governor who was represented by Rt. Hon. Speaker John Kizito Bonzena assured that workers’ sacrifice would not be in vain.
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Appreciating civil servants’ dedicated hard work, he said his administration had embarked on training and retraining of workers and total renovation of offices and state secretariat complexes.
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He also said implementation of a contributing health insurance scheme for workers has been addressed, urging them to remain committed to the discharge of duties as their welfare would continue to take the center stage of his administration.
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