Workers shut down Uyo council secretariat over non-payment of salaries

Godswill Akpabio

The workers are owed three months salaries, and other allowances.

Workers of the Uyo Local Government in Akwa Ibom on Wednesday sealed off the council’s secretariat to protest the non-payment of their salaries and allowances.

The workers, under the umbrella of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), locked up secretariat’s gates and placed plantain leaves at many areas of the premises.

They alleged that since August 2013 their salaries had not been paid, while they were also being owed leave grants and other allowances since 2012.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria at the council secretariat, the branch chairman of NULGE, Idorenyin Nyong, said her members were suffering.

Ms. Nyong said the union would not re-open the secretariat until their demands were met. She said the council had no excuse for not paying salaries since the other local governments had been paying their workers monthly.

She lamented that the union had lost a member who could not get money to pay her hospital bills.

“We are here to tell the world that all is not well with the workers of Uyo local government.

“We have been owed salaries for the past three months, and leave grants since 2012.

“Our colleagues in other councils have received their salaries. I do not know why ours is different,” she said.

She appealed to the council chairman to look for money to pay workers in the local government.

Some of the protesting workers said it was rather unfortunate that their salaries were being owed at the beginning of the school year.

“We have children at schools, but we cannot pay their school fees. We have no salaries for three months.

“Promotion arrears since 2010 as well as leave grants since 2012 have not been paid,” they lamented.

The workers prayed that they should not experience a recurrence of 1996 and 1997, when the members of staff were owed 16 months salaries in the local government.

All efforts to reach the local government chairman, Ekerete Ekpenyong, or the council secretary failed to yield results as their mobile phone lines were not available.

(NAN)