By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The leadership of the Abia State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has directed the State Workforce not to submit themselves to another round of verification, until issues surrounding the planned exercise are ironed out by the Government and labour representatives.
The NLC directive followed an earlier official statement from the office of the Abia State Head of Service HOS ,directing workers across ministries, parastatals, and the 17 Local Councils of the State to submit themselves to online verification effective from May 10 to May 31 2024.
In a statement jointly issued by Comrades Okoro Ogbonna and Emma Alozie Chairman and Secretary respectively,the Abia NLC at the end of its emergency meeting in Umuahia on Saturday May 11,questioned the rationale behind subjecting workers to another verification ,at a time many have not been able to collect their salaries for up ward of Seven months due to hiccups arising from previous exercises.
The NLC described the latest move by the Government to conduct another verification exercise as smacking of insensitivity to the plight of the workers ,as well as a total disregard for labour in the state .
The labour leadership condemned the decision of the Abia state Government to conduct such a sensitive and important exercise as verification without consulting and or taking in to confidence the NLC leadership in the state.
The Abia NLC noted that while it perceives earlier exercises as designed to fish out ghost workers ,it nevertheless described the latest move coming just few months after the last verification as ill conceived and anti workers ,particularly in the face of the current harsh economic situation in the country.
The NLC leadership while noting that the latest verification exercise will put more pressure on the already financially challenged workforce,insisted that no worker across ministries, MDAs and the local council of the should submit himself/ herself for any verification until further notice.
