NLC Clashes with Abia Governor Over Unpaid Salaries, Others

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has once again come to loggerheads with Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, due to a contentious verification exercise that has allegedly resulted in unpaid wages for state workers spanning over seven months.

This confrontation follows a new directive from the state government requiring civil and public servants to upload their documents online between May 10, 2024, and May 31, 2024.

The directive, revealed in a circular by NLC, has sparked significant concern among state workers. Signed by Okoro Ogbonnaya and Emma Alozie, the NLC state chairman and secretary respectively, the document advises workers to ignore the government’s online submission directive. They argue that there’s no clarity on what became of the initial verification process which similarly left many employees unverified and without their salaries.

During an emergency meeting held on Saturday, May 11, 2024, the State Executive Council of the Congress critiqued the government’s approach. They pointed out several issues:

1. The lack of consultation with the Labour Congress, which they believe is a slight to the workers’ representative body.

2. The redundancy of conducting another verification exercise when the outcomes of the prior one remain unresolved.

3. The additional financial strain this online process places on workers, who are already grappling with economic hardships on meager salaries.

In light of these concerns, the NLC has taken a firm stand, directing that no worker from the state ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) or from any of the 17 local government areas should participate in the new online verification until a mutual agreement is reached between the government and the Labour Congress.