Nigeria Labour Congress on Thursday said it was sad that in spite of the over N200 billion so far collected as monthly allocations and several bailouts and loan collected, Kogi State government is still owing workers between 8 – 38 months salary arrears.
NLC said owing to this development, workers in the state had been acutely battered and reduced to mere skeleton walking the street without hope or succour. The NLC chairman made this declaration in Lokoja during the 7th Quadrennial State Congress held at the Kafas Multipurpose hall.
The oganised labour said due to the non-payment of salaries, the workers had been turned to beggars with some suffering from various ailments which had resulted in several deaths. The worst hit among the workers, NLC said was the local government staff some of who were owed over 52 months salaries arrears while those paid were paid in miserable percentages while some pensioners were also dying in hunger and starvation.
The organised labour pleaded with the state government to make a monthly payment of salaries a priority. It appealed to President Muhammad Buhari to intervene in the release of the second batch of the N30. 8 billion bailout fund to the state government to enable payment of salary arrears.
It was observed that all the union leaders were returned unopposed for the second term with the state chairman Onu Edoka retaining his position.
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