Enugu to pay outstanding gratuities soon – TUC

Chairman, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Enugu state chapter, Mr. Igbokwe Chukwuma Igbokwe, has commended the state government for promising to set aside N100 million monthly to offset outstanding gratuities owed retired civil servants.
Governor Ugwuanyi had, during the 2018 May Day celebration, promised to set aside N100 million to ensure that retired civil servants get their backlog of gratuities, with some dating back to 2009.
Speaking to newsmen in his office, Igbokwe said payment of the outstanding gratuities would soon start, pointing out that if the tempo was maintained, all outstanding gratuities would be paid soon.
“Government has promised to pay arrears of gratuity by setting aside N100 million monthly and it will start very soon.
There is hope if the system is allowed to work.
“If we continue it as a practice, one day Enugu will be free of accumulated gratuity.
We want the government to offset this by paying off any time huge money comes in like the Paris Club refund,” Igbokwe stated.
Asked about the plight of the workers in the parastatals, the TUC leader said the government was trying and could not do everything at a time.
“These things cannot be done at once.
People are retiring everyday and schools need accreditation and all these need funds to execute,” he said.
He added that workers in the state understand that the union is committed to fighting for their welfare, saying “everything is open and not hidden.” On the proposed minimum wage which he called living wage, Igbokwe said he hoped that government would do something or else the workers would roll out war drums.
“If they fail to implement the minimum wage, we’ll roll out our war drums.
We have seen changes in revenue and this should be given to the workers that create the wealth.
Civil servants pay taxes.
We are optimistic that they will pay,” he said.
The labour leader, while stressing on the importance of paying the living wage however pleaded with the government to fix the economy in such a way that the wage would be meaningful.
“Pay us the minimum wage and fix the economy to increase the purchasing power of the citizenry.
If you pay me N50, 000 and you have not created other enabling environment, the money will be meaningless,” he said.