By Mohammed Yangida
Lafia
President Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Nasarawa state chapter ,Comrade Abdullahi Abubakar, has accused the leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state of pursuing only the interest of state workers and not those of local government employees.
He made the disclosure yesterday in Lafia, saying that when local government workers were being paid their salaries in percentages for over a year, the leadership of NLC did nothing to address the situation only when state workers were involved did they start calling for solidarity, thereby would not be part of their proposed strike scheduled to commence Monday 8th next week.
“I want to state categorically that in Nasarawa state NLC injury, to one is no longer injury to all, but injury to any individual is injury to that individual alone,” he added.
Abubakar faulted the state leadership of the NLC for collecting money from government to organise May Day celebration only to divert the funds and declare it a mourning day, which had no bearing to local government workers just as he said the NULGE had passed vote of no confidence on the NLC leadership.
He insisted that NULGE was not consulted before NLC entered into agreement with the state government to halt percentage payment and the union did not subscribe to it.
“NULGE represents the interest of workers at the grassroots and would not condone such double standards, corruption and insensitivity meted out on its members”, he stated.
In a related development, the Concerned Civil Servants in the state have called on the state government to pay workers with the available resources on the ground, saying “waiting for months until government gets enough to pay 100 percent salaries does not serve the collective interest of workers”.
The chairman of the group, Comrade Ibrahim Mohammed said: “We, as concerned civil servants, are urging Governor Umaru Al-Makura to pay workers’ with what is on the ground because we have lost confidence in the labour leadership in the state, who connived against the common interest of workers only to turn round and incite us against government, enough is enough” he said.
