By Mohammed Yangida
Lafia
Former chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Nasarawa state, Comrade Gabriel Agbashi ,has threatened to “kill any leader of the Organised Labour union in the state that fails to turn up at the Workers’ Day celebrations to explain his/her side of allegation of bribery against them.”
He gave the threat yesterday in Lafia during the 2017 Workers’ Day celebrations, saying, however, that it was unfortunate that despite state government’s agreement with Labour to offset salary arrears, government had failed to fulfill her own part of the agreement.
Agbashi expressed concern that civil servants’ welfare was not being taken seriously, adding that the union would continue to engage the state government until their demands were met.
Also speaking, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Abdullahi Adeka, said the union had given the state government a one-week ultimatum to address the union’s demands or face industrial action.
“The Congress has directed the leadership of the organised Labour to give to government one week to address all issues raised or we will be left with no option than to resume our earlier suspended strike action,” he said.
The state government recently entered into agreement with Organised Labour with the effect that workers’ salaries would be paid after every two months since the monthly allocation to the state from the federal government could not pay 100 per cent of workers on the payroll of the state.
It would be also recalled that the state government recently released the sum N300 million to the state pension bureau for payment of pension arrears owed retirees and next of kins of deceased pensioners.
