• As State Government owe workers 3months Salary and leave bonus
As Nigeria’s economy keeps nose-diving daily, citizens are beginning to complain bitterly about the hardship it tends to pose to the Christmas celebration as each and everyone has begun to brace up for a bleak and low-key celebration.
In the previous year, December to be precise, many state governments owed their workers, salaries of several months and Ondo State happened to be one of them. The civil servants in the states lamented bitterly of how they celebrated the Yuletide in hardship.
One would have expected Ondo state government to make up for its last year’s laxity by paying the workers’ salaries with enticing emoluments and new year bonus in appreciation of their selfless services to the state, but the government has decided to thread the path it threaded last year.
According to a report by Daily Post, civil servants in Ondo state may celebrate this year’s Christmas in low-key as the state government has backed down on its initial promise of paying October salary and leave bonus before Christmas.
It was learnt that the State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Yele Ogundipe and the Accountant-General had earlier met with union leaders and agreed that the workers would be paid their October salary and leave bonus by December 15, (today).
It was revealed that the state government may no longer pay the workers the leave bonus but would only pay the October salary in batches.
The purported non-payment of leave bonus has already demoralized the workers, who had hinged their hope on it for the Christmas celebration.
Speaking on the matter, the state chairman of the workers Joint Negotiating Council, JNC, Mr. Sunday Adeleye confirmed the meeting of the unions with state the government representatives.
Adeleye, who disclosed the series of meetings held with the government, dismissed allegations by the workers that the union had been compromised.
He said “you will remember that on September 30, workers were on strike, and at the end of the day, we were paid two salaries and four months deductions.
“We as union, we have been doing everything within our power but you know in Nigeria, when you are doing something some people may believe you are not doing enough.
“We have met with the commissioner for finance and the accountant general and they both promised that by tomorrow (Today) salary of October and leave bonus will be ready. The question is why are they paying salary of October in December?
“The major issue is leave bonus which is entitlement of all workers and as I am talking to you, they have not been paid.
“Just last Friday, I met with Ogundipe to remind him, because there was a circular that came out from the office of Accountant General requesting for the PR which means Payment Request i.e they are ready to pay.
“But just this morning, we were with the Chief of Staff to the Governor because we heard rumours that government is not ready to pay to pay leave bonus again.
“The most painful part of this is that most of the workers are expecting this leave bonus not for Christmas alone but to pay school fees of their children when the school resumes next year.
“We are thinking beyond Christmas, we are thinking of what will come of our children, it will be shameful if by January, our children were not allowed into the school.
“Don’t forget, November and December salaries are still there and nobody is talking about that one for now. Financially Ondo State workers may have a bleak Christmas, spiritually, I pray they have a good Christmas.
“We are very practical and sensitive to the government because of the depression of economy in the country. Looking at other states it is only Lagos in south west that is paying at when due.
“We have an agreement with the government that they will be owing us one month in arrears but it now two month and that is breach of agreement. As am talking to you now, government is owing us two months and by next week, it becomes three months.
Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor, Mr. Dayo Fadahunsi said the government is doing all its possible best to ensure that workers in the state are paid before Christmas.
Fadahunsi noted that despite the financial crisis in the country, Ondo state was among states that still seriously seeks for means of paying the workers.
He said “as at today in Nigeria, there is no workers either at state or federal level that is better taken care of more than Ondo state workers.
“If we compare us with other states, we are far better. This government value our workers but allocations have dropped below 50 percent government and this is a great challenge for a government,” the Governor’s aide stated.
