Zamfara: Organized Labour Excited Over Payment Of Outstanding Salaries, Knocks Past Administration

By Ayodele Oni

Organized Labour Unions in Zamfara State have accused the immediate past administration in the State of deliberately inflicting hardship on workers due to non payment of their salary for four months.

Report indicate that Zamfara State Civil servants received salary for April and May, 2023 after waiting for three months without any pay.

The workers who have not received salaries since March 2023, were paid for only April and May 2023 while March remains pending.

A worker who received the alert today (Friday night) groaned saying “I don’t even know where to start, am I to settle debts or buy food for my children or prepare for Sallah” he lamented while viewing his bank alert.

The State Governor, Dauda Lawal, during an interview with BBC Hausa Service lamented that he inherited almost zero account in the State treasury, hence incapacitated to pay the backlog salaries.

However, the Governor pledged to diversify means to source money by borrowing to settle the workers salaries.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) and Trade Union Congress, (TUC) in a statement on Saturday, stated that “On behalf of the Zamfara state civil servants, the two labour centers (NLC and TUC) in the state wish to express their appreciation and gratitude to Zamfara State Government under the able leadership of Governor Dauda Lawal for the payment of April and May salaries.

“The State Civil Servants and Pensioners were subjected to all kinds of hardships as a result of non-payment of their 3 months salaries and pension, which created untold hardships, hunger and uncertainty among them and their families.

“In what can be termed as responsible leadership, in less than a month of taking the affairs of the state, the present administration of Dr Dauda Lawal has salvage the workers by paying the backlog salaries.

“However, the NLC/TUC Leadership of the organized labour in the state urged the state government to also extend the same action to the remaining workers of some ministries that are yet to receive their March Salary.

“We also wish to call on the state government to  ensure timely payment of workers Salary as well as pensions and other welfare packages for effective service delivery.”