Open Letter to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

His Excellency,

The Governor of Enugu State,

Government House, Enugu.

Your Excellency,

INFORMATION ON THE CONCRETE/ OBJECTIVE PLIGHT/SITUATION AND WORKING CONDITION OF ENUGU STATE PUBLIC SERVANTS AS AT DATE CALL FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE REMEDIAL ACTION BEFORE YOUR EXIT AS THE 3RD CIVILIAN GOVERNOR OF ENUGU STATE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF JUSTICE, POSTERITY AND HONOUR.

INTRODUCTION:

Legacy is a VERY important phenomenon and quite essential value in the life and affairs of individuals,  society and the the person that bequeathed the legacy.

Chambers 21st Century Dictionary defines legacy as

 1. ” An amount of property or  money left in a will”

2. ” Something handed on OR left unfinished by a past owner or predecessor. The Dictionary gave an example of ” legacy of mismanagement”

During the induction programme of newly elected and re- elected governors in Nigeria by the Nigeria Governors Forum,  some eminent personalities who attended the programme notably Mr Tony Elumelu a captain of Industry, Dr Mrs Okonjo Iweala- DG of WTO and Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of UN took during in the course of their goodwill message on the occasion took time to admonish the newly elected and re- elected governors on the fundamental essence of governance and development. The trio, particularly the DG of WTO and DSG of UN exhorted the incoming governors on the need to be conscious of legacies, those things that will define their personalities, characters and their names when they left office. One thing very remarkable in their advice is that they should pay attention to the welfare of the citizens, the workers, the retired personnel, affordable and accessible quality healthcare, education, water; employment, energy and power;  strengthening of the Social institutions and ensure that they are really functional and viable; above all open and transparent in the fiscal and policy management and ensure social justice, justice for all,  etc.

Why I have to isolate these three personalities amongst all the spersons that spoke during the occasions is because of their levels of exposures at global Private and public business administration. As for Mrs Iweala and Amina Mohammed, they have been in government and have interacted and continued to interact with governments all over the world and know better what constitute and define governance and legacy for “state” administration. State here means means nation state and not limited to governments of state as parts of federated units of a federal government. I believe you were there during the occasion and listened to their speeches. Perhaps,  if you could recall assuming you had time to read thoroughly my private correspondences to about you about two years ago and the content of our address to  you and follow up letters to you as a civil society group under the aegis of Civil Society, Workers and Human Rights Defenders, you will appreciate the fact that most of what these respected technocrats of international repute said to the newly elected and re-elected governors are not remarkable different from our opinions to you on what governance should be all about it the need for you to be conscious of the legacy you will leave behind by the end of the day and those things that will be speaking for or against you at your back, ie, when you are out of office as a governor and how to know or determine whom your through friends and good advisers are.

It is against this backdrop that I wish to bring to you this brief report on the true situation as regards to the condition of workers of Enugu state in terms of their general welfare and their working environment in the civil and public service of Enugu. This report as matter of objectivity and trust are not by any means has any intention or iota of it for an indictment, rather it is aimed at informing you that you can still do something remarkable in regards to some of the issues isolated and discussed below.

REAL CONDITION OF THE WORKING PEOPLE IN ENUGU STATE CIVIL/PUBLIC SERVICE IN ENUGU STATE.

For any employer or  management to effectively, morally and even legally appraise the input and output of a worker, that employer MUST ENSURE that the worker is provided with all the necessary requirements: facilities,  enabling/conducive environment and capacity development.

 It is on the basis of the availablity of these 3 factors that the employer can expect the worker to bring out his/her best. It is also upon the adequate provision of these two factors that the employer can appraise the performance and attitude to work of the employee/ the workers at all levels and can stand to punish the worker for poor attitude to work and poor performance on his/her duties. Without meeting up with his own obligation the employer or the management cannot morally punish the worker for any wrong attitude to work such like coming to work late, truancy, sleeping on duty, etc or poor performance on the giving assignment or schedule of duties.

When I talk of facilities I mean the wage- the necessary, the real wage, take home pay of a worker every month; the transport system, accomodation/housing, the tools use in performing his/her duties in office. And, when I talk of the environment, I mean the interior and exterior milieu and the the necessary infrastructures and amenities in the working environment. To be more specific, I mean, the sits/chairs, table, fan, functional conveniences,  AC, Television, phones, confectioneries/tea ( for those that merits it based on their levels), cotton, tile/carpet, etc. And when I mean the exterior I mean the neatness of the environment, the floor of the environment and horticultural expressions. Let me say that this may not be considered as a statutory factors to be put into consideration in assessing the performance of the worker but let me point out clearly that it also contribute in projection of the image and dignity of the establishment and by extension the confidence of the workers working in such environment. It has a far- reaching psychological effects on the workers working there.

Permit me also highlight a little on the nature of a worker as part of human family that is affected by every other thing that affect every other human being all over the world and in history. Man naturally is a Biopsychosocial entity with every content and feeling of what goes on within his internal and external environment that contribute in his survival instincts and responses including issues that has to do with stress and anxiety, harsh environments, hunger, love, esteem/pride ( pride in the positive sense in terms of one’s personality symbol in his/her environment and society), etc. Workers are also part of all levels from the lowest to the highest paid are part of that Biopsychosocial entity with nerves, senses and feelings irrespective of his level of income or education. He/she has rights to life, dignity and worth.

OBJECTIVE CONDITION OF WORKING PEOPLE IN THE SERVICE OF ENUGU STATE.

In providing the report of the condition of workers of Enugu state which you are leaving behind as legacy to the forces of contemporary harsh economy and incoming  administration, I put the above factors that constitute precedence for assessing the average performance of any worker in real human society, especially in the democratic society of claim here in Nigeria and Enugu state. I also put into consideration the realities of true nature of “man” (in generic sense).

In putting this report across to you, I wish to inform His Excellency that some of the issues I am raising here are not new because at one occasion or the other, I have been privileged to discuss some of the issues raised here amongst other issues that constitute about 17 point  issues affecting the people of Enugu state over two years ago

 with you in company of  other colleagues in the civil society under the aegis Coalition of Civil Society Workers and Human Rights Defenders but very unfortunately no serious attention was given to them as it should be, hence the continued existence of those problems today. All the same, I believe that you can still effect some changes before your exist and they will be recorded for you

THE ISSUES:

1. Living wage/ take home pay.

On this issue, public servants in Enugu state are still the most  poorly renumerated, giving the the fact that their leave allowance of workers were taken away from them and added their wage and thereafter called it a minimum wage.  Leave allowance has to be removed the present chart so that workers will know what they are being paid as minimum wage.

 Minimum wage has always been paid line by line with leave allowance. This is the first time it is done in Enugu state and in Nigeria. Consolidated salary supposed to be cumulative sum of the monetary value of the minimum wage worked out with the necessary relativity adjustments, the  monetary value of monetisation and then that of the leave allowances if it agreed to with workers mandate. But workers are saying that their leave allowance should be separated from the minimum wage. Let them know how much they are being paid as minimum wage and let them be paid their leave allowance separately anything they are embarking on leave as has been the tradition and practice.

There should be a properly worked out minimum wage  for workers based on relativity of the past and brought it to be on N18,000:00 minimum wage and based yon that determines that should be the real minimum wage of workers outside minimum wage. That is the only of doing justice for Enugu workers in this regard.

2. THE CASE OF PARASTALTALS

 Workers in the parastaltals, they only joined the league of those who are being paid the so called minimum/short-changed wage just about 3 months ago without any arrears. Normally in Enugu state, in all other states in Nigeria and at the federal level, minimum wage is always being implemented uniformly for all the workers including those of in the parastatals and local governments. Those working in lENTRACO are yet be included.

3. EXCLUSION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT WORKERS AND PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE MINIMUM WAGE PAYMENT.

The worst hit in terms of impoverishment are the primary school teachers. While the rest of workers are said to be paid minimum wage, primary school teachers and local government staff are the worst hit. Even though on the record of the government, local government staff and primary school teachers are receiving minimum wage but in the pockets and bank accounts of the workers in that system- local governments and primary schools, it is an illusion because, to them there is nothing different between now and before the so called minimum wage agreements and implementation at the local government system and primary school system.

4. On issue of leave, annual leave is a statutory right of workers all over the world and leave days are always counted on “working days, EXEMPTING public holidays and weekends. That is the practice all over the world and in all other states of the federation in Nigeria, EXCEPT in

state. In Enugu state public holidays and weekends are counted for public servants as leave periods. So, if a worker is to spend 21 days as annual leave in Enugu state, weekends and public holidays are always counted for them as leave days and even the Monday sit-at-home that is now generally accepted as a no-work/no movement days are counted for workers as leave days. Again, every worker is entitled to certain percentage of his/her annual basic salary as annual salary as leave allowance. Now, since the beginning of minimum wage, leave allowances of workers have been stopped by this administration.

5. JUNIOR STAFF ARE STAGNATED.

Junior staff in the public service in Enugu state have been stagnated at one place for over 4 years due to non conduct of COMPRO exams. COMPRO means Confirmation and Promotion exams being conducted annually for newly employed officers within the grade levels 03 and 04, notably those in the clerical and related cadres. With that exams they can begin to enjoy promotions and be confirmed and without the exam they remain on probation and cannot be promoted. The last such exam was conducted was in 2018 and why it has not been conducted is because of claimed  unavailability of fund

6. DENIAL OF FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF PROMOTION.

In the past and even now at the federal level and in some states, promotion and promotion periods are normally thing and moment of joy, happiness, source of motivation and higher aspiration for the workers in public service,  but for those of Enugu state, promotion is just a formality, just to fulfill all righteousness that does not translate into a financial or economic value and dividends. In Enugu state, promotion of workers WILL BE DELIBERATELY delayed for  years and whenever it is conducted the financial benefits of those periods will not be paid whereas at the  federal level and some other states, financial effect of the promotion arrears are always paid in retrospect, covering those periods of the delayed promotions but in Enugu state, only 3 months are authorised to be paid as arrears after over 2 years of delay. That is why, during promotion periods, you see workers at the federal level and other states celebrate their promotion  because of the paid cumulative financial benefits of delayed promotions

7. LACK OF TRAINING.

If you go to the governor, he will be complaining of incompetence of civil servants and poor attitude to work. If you go to the chairman of civil service commission, the same thing but the question is to what extent are they encouraging and empowering the public servants at all levels by way of sending them on in-service training within and outside the country as being done by other states? . To what extent are they offering the workers study leaves, etc and paying them the necessary training allowances?  Federal  and other states send their workers on training and pay them all the necessary training allowances. Before conducting promotion exams, concerned workers are always sent on training and after that promotion exams are conducted based on the refresher training courses and is always regular for all category of workers. That is only way of ensuring regular improvements,  innovations, agility and positive consciousness on the part of public servants and strong, functional and dynamic bureaucracy.

DESTROYED AND BASTARDISED CIVIL SERVICE/ BUREAUCRACY VIA POLITICISATION OF CIVIL SERVICE, SELLING OUT OF JOB OF WORKERS TO POLITICAL CONTRACTORS AND NEPOTISM.

This is also a bad experience of some category of workers. Their jobs and offices were taken away and handed over to political associates, friends and business partners of those in power. That is why you see relations, friends and politicians who are not civil servants and with no cognate experience being appointed into career offices of permanent Secretary and other administrative career offices that  naturally and statutorily meant for civil servants because of their accumulated experiences over time. With this kind of experience, no one expects the best from those who are being suppressed and subjugated other than sabotage, mediocrity and apathy.

8. OUTRIGHT NEGLECT AND DELIBERATE IMPOVERISHMENT OF RETIRED PERSONNEL

As at date,  while retirees in the state public service are being owed outstanding arrears of 2 months pension, those in local governments and primary schools are owed more one  year pension, meaning that multitude of primary school teachers that retired for over a year has not received any income, no gratuities, no pension and sometimes husband wife retire at the same time.  As for the gratuities. The last gratuities were to retired civil servants in Enugu state was sometimes in 2010 The case of local government staff and primary school teachers are always the worst.

 Normal practice is that, as a worker is about to retiring, he/she will proceed on 3 months pre-retirement leave and will be paid 3 months in leu of retirement. Within that period he will process his retirement documents,  and at the completion of the 3 months, he/she will be placed on pension and will start receiving  pension,  and at the same time be paid his/ her gratuity. With this smooth from active service and full pay package of salaries and allowances to period of casual business activities and rest with regular payment of part of salaries for life as pension to enable him/her have something to be taking care of himself and family members,  pay rent, buy food, clothing and water to  sustain life. Being aware that pension alone which is 80% of basic salary per month is not enough and being also conscious of the fact that the civil servants spend all their time in the office from 8am to 4-5pm every 5 days in a week, don’t have time and money and time to invest on any other business, the system through law provides for gratuity which is 300% of annual basic to be paid to retiring worker in bulk immediately at end of the 3 months pre- retirement leave.  With that he/she can start  a business with the money from the gratuity while relying on pension for sundry expenses every month.

 Now,  state Civil servants in Enugu state  were last paid in 2010 while for the local government staff and primary school teachers, theirs are more than that whereas monthly pensions are also owed in arrears. Many retired civil servants are living as destitutes, many are homeless whereas many are helplessly dieing of small small diseases and of hunger too because their monies are ceased by those  those who served in government in the past and those serving currently who are  living in opulence and in extravagant styles, yet  labour unions are not saying or doing anything meaningful to hold them accountable.

8. NON CONDUSSIVE WORKING ENVIRONMENT/ATMOSPHERE-  LACK OF FURNITURE, LAPTOP/COMPUTERS , FANS, TVs STATIONER; , DILAPIDATED  TABLES, CHAIRS;   DYSFUNCTIONAL CONVENIENT FACILITIES, DIRTY ENVIRONMENT, COMPOUND WITH POTHOLES, ETC

These are what you see in the environment and atmosphere of where civil servants works in Enugu state and labour unions are seeing them and working in such atmosphere without saying or doing anything to challenge the ugly situations and budgets are presented and approved every year.

9. HOMELESSNESS.

Before now, there used to be staff quarters for both junior and senior civil servants where they leave while at work and after service they vacate and others will move in. It used to alleviate the housing problems of workers. Now, those buildings are not there anywhere now and there is no single estate or building anywhere that is meant for civil servants. The few workers who were given one bedroom apartment at Elim Estate at Ibagwa Nike are paying as huge as ordinarily one can pay in a 2 to 3 bedrooms bungalow with a compound of one’s own. With the present cost of rent where two bedrooms apartment is not between five hundred to seven hundred thousand Naira depending on the areas, how does expect senior civil servants whose annual take home is hardly up to seven hundred thousand Naira in year live in a flat with cost of school fees, food, transportation, power, water, etc.

10. NO TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM FOR THE CIVIL SERVANTS.

There used to be staff buses for civil servants and where there were no specially designated staff buses, there were transport system that were providing a kind of palliatives for civil servants and poor citizens. In the place of staff buses, there were ENTRACO and COAL CITY  buses with minimal fare when compared with the normal transport fare charged by small commercial buses. Throughout the regime of this administration, there was no conscious and deliberate efforts to enhance the transportation needs of civil servants, their children in the schools  and poor masses of Enugu state. ENTRACO is dead, COAL CITY system is dead and nothing visible is being done to alleviate the system within the 8 years.

11. INADEQUATE OFFICE ACCOMMODATION FOR CIVIL SERVANTS.

At the moment, there are not enough spaces for offices for the civil servants. Many senior officers are squeezed inside one room due to lack of accommodation. Against this backdrop, there a very big new secretariat complex covering the whole of former ministries of Education, Works, Finance, lands, budgets, Establishment, Head of Service,etc with so many new building complexes inside it. That place is full of grasses and shrubs. Since the completion of those buildings till now nobody had entered there, not talk of occupying them and yet workers don’t have offices to relax and do their work. Nobody in Enugu state can explain what happened to those building complexes where over 10 billion Naira of Tax- Payers money were sunk by the immediate past governor of Enugu state, Sullivan Chime. This administration has done nothing to address the problem with that building. Why it is not being put into use cannot be explained, even by this present/outgoing governor. Labour unions are seeing them and not doing anything to address the matter.

The above are the condition of workers to be handed over to the incoming administration.

CALL FOR REMEDIAL ACTION..

In view of the foregoing, we call on the leadership of NLC to write immediately to this Governor asking for a meeting to address these issues before his goes out.  His Excellency, the governor of Enugu State should urgently address these issues and ensure that they are addressed adequately before handing over to the next administration. We also call on the two labour centres of NLC and TUC to urgently rise up in action and get this administration respond to all these issues and enter into a written agreement on those issues. Where the governor is indisposed, let there be a rally of all workers for them to be informed properly and a resolution taken in how to get this governor address these issues, and where possible ( depending on the disposition of NLC and TUC) embark on continuous protest rally until the day of handing over. That to me is the only way of restoring the relevance of Labour in Enugu state and get the incoming administration address the problems of workers immediately he assumes power.

To wit, we demand as follows:

1. That there should be an immediate commencement of  renegotiation, conclusion and clearing of the accruing arrears  of the minimum wage for public servants in Enugu with real relativity adjustment in line with National Minimum Wage Circular and salary chat model. Igbo led Negotiation Council did not address that. Let the leave allowances be removed immediately from the current salary every one and let us know how much every worker is paid as minimum wage, grade level by grade level, step by step and the basis for arriving at what they agreed and signed with the government as minimum wage.

2. Immediate restoration of leave allowances to the public Servants in Enugu state and directive from the governor to pay the outstanding arrears leave allowances to all the civil servants before OR payroll them alongside with and together with May 2023 salary and with a newly negotiated minimum wage based on REAL  relativity  adjustment.

3. That anticipated new negotiation shall accommodate interest of all the public servants in Enugu state as had been the practice before the regime of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu else where in all other states and at federal level. There must be a uniform minimum wage agreement with uniform implementation in all the MDAs and local governments in Enugu state. There has never been and shall never be separate or sectoral minimum wage circular agreement and uniform implementation for all the workers in all the MDAs including school system and local governments. Every other existing agreements between the NULGE, NUT, AUPTRE which obviously were inimical to the interest and welfare of workers in those sectors and which too is aimed at breaking the solidarity spirit and bonds of workers and unions are not acceptable anymore and must be set aside and be replaced with a uniform renegotiated one to be signed by NLC and TUC and witnessed by civil society.

4. There shall be immediate revert to the universally model of counting of leave days based on working days and not calendar days which count public holidays, weekends ( Saturdays, Sundays) and every other days that have been conventionally accepted to be a work free day like Mondays that is now conventionally accepted as sit-at-home/ no movement days in Enugu and Southeast Nigeria. It is very unlawful and unjust to count public holidays and weekends and every other day every other worker is not do not go to work as as an official leave days for workers

5. Bringing to end the practice of notional and financial effective dates for workers’ promotion. We do not know where Enugu state government borrowed that one as it is not obtained in the Civil Service Rules. From the perspective of Public Service Rules, notional leaves are leaves one voluntarily applied for and approved for one’s own convenience, such like leave of absence, study leave without pay, etc. It is highly unjust for political actors in government to deliberately delay the promotion of workers as long as they like and by the end of the day issues a circular stating that they cannot be paid financial arrears of workers’ promotion. Financial effect of every promotion should take effect from the very day that pays is qualified to enter the next rank. If government delays the promotion, they have to pay those periods of the delay. That is what is obtainable else and what is ideal in RIGHT CONSCIENCE.

6. Henceforth, there should be a refresher training with attached allowances preceding every promotion exams based on one’s areas of profession/duties. If we must move forward and promotion is aimed at improvement and innovation in service delivery, then it should be knowledge-driven.

7. There should be an agreed pattern of regular training of civil servants of all categories from the last level to the highest ranked officers. Training is not a special favour to workers but an obligation on the part of employers who wants the best for his/her  establishment and the society at large. There should be a redefined modes of training, through in-service training, study leave with pay, regular workshops and seminars with attached training allowances. They were what were obtained during Anambra era, else where and at federal level. How can we be talking of various policies and new concept and civil servants do not know their meaning and we expect our institutions to be strong and citizenry be free and happy as result of service delivery from the public servants. It is high time Enugu state government should start placing high premium on the welfare of the citizens, effective and impactful policies and service delivery by investing on the capacity development of its  Workforce and their overall welfare. We recommend that Staff Development Centre should be upgraded to Manpower Development College/institute with all the paraphernalia of college system/training institute.

9. 10. There should be immediate release of fund for the commencement of training and conduct of COMPRO exams. We also suggest that ICT should be part of orientation/ curriculum for the COMPRO.

We also recommend that there should be general reorientation programmes for all the admin, planing and accounts staff on the rudiments of registry works and  procedures, Civil Service Rules, financial management, procurement and due process for proper reconnection with the tradition.

10. On the issue of conducive atmosphere and good working environment, we suggest that a joint government and Civil Society committee to move round all the MDAs to ascertain the state of affairs in terms infrastucture, office furniture, functioning of convenient facilities, fans, AC, fans, interior and exterior environment of MDAs, come up with recommendation and machinery/arrangement put in place for implementation of the recommendations.

11. As for arrears of pension and gratuities, government should create a taskforce made up of Labour, civil society and reps of government for determining and clearing the arrears of pension and gratuities of civil servants and labour. There should be a suspension of projects within the next 5 months and use the period determine the exact workforce, strength of retirees-and clearing of government monies owed to workers and retirees and based on the real outcome and projections draw up a supplementary budget that will accommodate the realities on the ground and moving the state forward. This will involve the new administration.

11. REVIEW OF POLICY ON THE APPOINTMENT OF PERMANENT SECRETARIES AND OTHER CAREER OFFICES.

We do not accept the present practice and whatever reason or justification provided by the governor for appointing Permanent Secretaries from outside the public service or appointment of non professional administrators into career offices. There are offices that maintain and advance standards and traditions, hence best practices. Such offices like Account General, Permanent cc Secretaries, Auditor General, Surveyor General, etc are what maintain and advance standards and preserve tradition and should not politicised. Why we do not set aside the importance of geographical spread and equitable representation on local government basis, we do not support the idea of mortgaging standard at the alter or ego of where one comes from. Hence we condemn the idea of imposition of a junior officer on the Senior or appoint someone from outside to come and take over the position of someone who has been in a system thereby stagnating and suppressing the person.

The way to maintain standard and balance of representation is to appoint more political appointees to from the areas that do no have Permanent Secretaries or in other career areas. It is wrong to appoint a politician as Perm Sec or appoint deputy director or assistant director or any Officer of lower rank into Perm position when there are directors. We must maintain standard for sake of standard.

13. On issue of Transportation system, government has to make ENTRACO a real government company, buy buses of different sizes including big buses and appoint people with outstanding integrity to run it as a government parastatal. With the deployment of many big buses and other categories it bring down the cost of public transport in the state.

14. On the issue of abandoned new secretariat building and other abandoned projects, we demand that a probe panel be set to investigate why they were abandoned and what should be done to reactivate them or recover the money spent on them.

15. On housing and shelter, government should develop satellite town, build housing estates of about 10 pieces of  two and 3 bedrooms apartment each and make them available to workers on highly subsidized rates to be deducted from their salaries and pensions. To actualise and make it realistic, government should create a committee made up of men and women of integrity from survey department, ministry of land housing, housing and representatives of TUC, NLC and Civil Society and create an endowment fund where money for the project will be paid, managed and accounted for.

FROM COMRADE OSMOND UGWU,

President, International Solidarity for Peace and Human Rights Initiative;  Convener, Coalition of Civil Society Workers and Human Rights Defenders and Interim Chairman of Enugu State Network of Civil Society Organisations- ENSNET.