By Henry Odeh
A report by The Sun indicates that the Niger state government has concluded plans to slash salaries of civil servants in the state by 50 percent to be able to cope financially as Nigeria battles with economic recession.
According to the newspaper, the state government told officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) at a meeting held on Monday, November 23, that it can no longer afford to pay 100% salaries to workers effective from December 2020.
Just in: Days after labour walks out of meeting, FG re-invites leaders over fuel price hike The meeting was reportedly attended by all members of the State Executive Council except the Governor Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello and his Deputy Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Ketso. Niger state govt to slash workers salary by 50% from December.
The development was communicated to the labour leaders by the state’s accountant general, Alhaji Abdullahi Saidu.
The accountant-general reportedly explained that there was a drastic decline in the state’s income from the federation account and the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). The state government, however, reportedly promised to refund the 50 percent deduction back to workers when the economy improves.
The state government, however, reportedly promised to refund the 50 percent deduction back to workers when the economy improves.
In their reaction, the Organized Labour in Niger state has vowed to resist the plan to slash the salaries of workers.
The Niger state chapter of NLC did not however, accepted the state’s government explanation and the promise to refund the deducted salaries later.
