Federal Workers Say FG Not Sincere With Payment Of Minimum Wage, Bonus, To Shut Secretariats From Monday
*Says no extension of 14 days ultimatum to FG
*Demands solidarity from CSOs
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) on Monday, alerted that the Federal Government is not been sincere with payment of wage award and the quest for a new national minimum wage for workers.
Raising the alarm in a communique issued at the end of an online meeting of the forum, signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze, FWF said there will be no extension of its 14 days ultimatum to the Federal Government.
The forum noted that, ” Government has been speaking with different lips. We have reviewed the situation at hand as regards the payment of the wage award to federal government workers, the new minimum wage and the state of the nation.
” It was generally agreed that the federal government has not been sincere with the payment of the wage award and the quest for a new national minimum wage”, it said.
FWF added, ” Government has been speaking with different lips. At a time, government claimed that it will clear all the outstanding arrears of the wage award owed and at another time, the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) has come to give reasons why government cannot pay the wage award.
“Most workers only got the September payment and most of the federal workers are now being owed four months wage award arrears. Most unfortunately, the purpose of putting in place the wage award has been defeated”.
According to the forum, “The question has been that if government is treating the issues of 35,000 Naira wage award for federal workers this way, then there is no hope of the actualization of a living wage for the Nigerian workers within this period”
The forum noted, ” Workers have endured this hardship enough and we have decided that there shall be no extension of the 14 days ultimatum”, saying, ” we are left with no other option other than to call out all our members out to exercise their constitutional rights to protest against the mass suffering faced by workers”.
FWF stressed, ” If after seven days, government fails to respond, the protest will lead to a total shut down of all federal government secretariats nationwide from Monday, February 5th ,2024″, vowing, “. We will not take any flimsy excuse for not paying the wage award as put by the AGF neither are we going to tolerate the staggered payment as done before nor accept part payment of the wage award again”.
It maintained that the ” protests is continuous until all outstanding wage award is cleared.That workers nationwide gather infront of all federal government secretariats nationwide and occupy it.
The communique reads further,
“That wherever possible in all MDA’s, especially in federal government higher institutions, protest should also go on. That all federal government workers should take this call as a matter of duty and not betray the struggle. We shall all assemble for the peaceful protest and demonstrations.
“We call for the solidarity of the civil society and the mass populace to join us in this struggle against oppression . Together we will resist hardship and mass suffering on the land.We are using this opportunity to call on the federal government to pay all that is owed the federal workers else the protest shall continue. Workers have suffered enough. We are ready for the protest. No going back, mobilization is in top gear. No retreat no surrender. Forward ever backward never.
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