By; IBRAHIM ADAMU, Kaduna
As Nigeria joins the world to mark 2024 Workers Day, the civilian staff of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), have used the occasion to protest what they termed unfair treatment and lopsided payroll practices by the management headed by a military Director General.
The workers,who trooped out today at the premises of Ordinance Factory Complex, Kakuri, Kaduna with various placards with inscriptions such as; “We are being marginalized under military DG of DICON, We need Civilian DG, We need IPPIS, Civilian Staff need freedom, DICON Will not grow under Civilian DG,” among other complaints.
Workers of the country’s premier arms manufacturing industry cried out of denied access to a critical program that promotes transparency and efficiency in wage distribution as regards the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
According to the workers, the exclusion prevents them from receiving the recent wage increases implemented for IPPIS-enrolled employees.
The aggrieved workers during the protest raised concerns about the accuracy of their payroll data outside of IPPIS.
“To add insult to injury, the Deputy Director of Human Resources Mercy Philip, curtly dismissed our inquiries, calling IPPIS a no-go area and suggesting they forget about enrollment altogether until she retires’ ” they said.
Speaking further about their concerns, the workers alleged allowances for scarce skills (established in 2008) and transportation (introduced in 2015) were abruptly stopped without explanation, causing frustration and a sense of unfair treatment.
This they described as a reprehensible treatment of a dedicated workforce.
“To confirm the maltreatment, the workers alleged that Director of Production Air Commodore Ola Emmanuel in his address to some staff in the factory justified reasons civil staff have not enjoyed wage award, Stressing, they have not received a single month of the wage award since it was announced September 2023.
“He also said that rather than questioning our management, we should go and ask the Accountant General and Permanent Secretary Ministry of Defense and budget office and salary and wages commission to confirm why the non payment of the wage rewards.
“We are owed eight months of minimum wage arrears dating back to 2019, additionally, we haven’t received the N35,000 six-month wage award initiated by the federal government in September 2023.
“With a new minimum wage on the horizon, we are concerned that we may be left behind again.
“Unfortunately, our attempts to address these concerns through open communication with DICON’s management have fell on deaf ears.
“Management has brushed aside our concerns, and even the Employee Town Hall promised by the Dirtector General to be held every two months, has never been held.
“We have held peaceful protests, first on July 3rd, 2023, and most recently the one we declared on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, demonstrating a commitment to finding solutions as DICON is a non-union workplace,
“We are staging this peaceful protest on a symbolically significant day for workers’ rights on May 1st which comes amid reports of a list being compiled to terminate the appointments of those believed to be spearheading the ongoing protests,” the workers alleged.
“It should be noted that the demoralization and potential dismissal of a highly skilled workforce with exclusive expertise in producing restricted goods like weapons and explosives poses a significant security threat.
“Disgruntled or desperate workers could be more vulnerable to exploitation or radicalization, potentially jeopardizing the security of these sensitive materials
“Will laying off such a critical workforce not exacerbate security threats by placing sensitive expertise in uncertain hands,” they asked.
The workers however, said the failure on side of DICON Management to meet the obligations to its civilian workforce has negative impact on employees’ morale which raises serious concerns about fair treatment.
They urged President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action to address the concerns regarding fair treatment; transparent payroll practices, and the timely resolution of these outstanding issues.
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