Workers in the Cross Rivers state and their local government counterparts on Wednesday defied the directives of the government’s to return to work.
Government offices remained shut as the strike action entered Day Two in defiance of the directive of the Head of Service, Geraldine Akpet-Ekanem, who said workers that failed to return to work would face severe sanctions.
According to a report on the Punch newspaper stated that, Organised labour unions comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and the State Joint Public Negotiations Council countered the HoS directive and asked the workers to remain at home.
According to Bulletin 3 titled ‘The Government is supposed to serve the citizens’ issued by the Action Committee of organised labour, it said,
“The Head of Service, Mrs Geraldine Akpet-Ekanem is misleading the governor.
Instead of her listening to the plight of workers, she is threatening and trying to intimidate workers.
“Comrades, ignore the press release. Salaries are paid by consultants (sadly so) and not the office of the Accountant General. Continue to stay at home. Don’t be intimidated.”
The workers’ grievances and demands include payment of arrears of gratuities since 2014, implementation of promotions of both state and local government workers, non-remittance of deductions from workers’ salaries, full implementation of the minimum wage to both state and local government workers, and non-implementation of full 27.5% teachers enhancement allowance.
Others include stoppage of tax exemption and allowance for teachers, payment of hazard allowances for medical and health workers, the inclusion of all staff employed but not yet on the payroll, reinstatement of pensioners wrongly removed from the payroll, non-payment of gratuities to both state and local government workers, among other demands.