Local council workers, under the auspices of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), yesterday, demanded an upward review of workers’ salaries by 300 per cent, to cushion effect of fuel subsidy removal.
The union also demanded that a single institution should fix salaries of workers and that of political office holders to ensure parity.
National president, Olatunji Hakeem Ambali, stated this in Ado-Ekiti, during commissioning of NULGE Hotels and Suites.
He said there was need for immediate implementation of the Oronsaye report to save cost of governance.
He maintained that every Nigerian, including political office holders, should be ready to make sacrifices and called for a downward review of salaries and wages of government appointees.
He said: “I believe government should review the Oronsaye report and restructure Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), so that at the end of the day, we would be able to cut down cost of governance. Also, retinue of aides should be cut down and salaries and wages of political office holders should be reviewed downward.
“We operate within the same market system in the country; there is no reason to have two bodies fixing wages and salaries. Labour is of the opinion that we should either put the task on the Wages and Salaries Commission or allow the Revenue and Fiscal Commission to take up the responsibility, so that there will be parity in salaries, and the same instrument will be used to fix salaries.”
He added: “That is the way to go. It is time to provide palliatives to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal. We are shocked that after a month into the removal, the Federal Government has done nothing. We are confident that President Bola Tinubu knows what he is doing, but delay could be dangerous. It is time for him to sit down and address that.
“Salaries of workers should be immediately reviewed upward because it would rub off on market people and other informal sectors. We demand that the salary of workers be increased by 300 per cent to cushion effect of the pain we are going through.”
In his welcome remarks, Ekiti State President of NULGE, Babatunde Olatunde, expressed confidence in the current administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji to offset three months salary arrears owed council workers.
He said: “We are not where we used to be in Ekiti. Before Oyebanji came to power, the state government owed five months salary arrears and seven months deductions, but today, we are only left with three months arrear of salaries and two months deductions. It takes commitment to do what he has done and we are sure that he will defray the remaining in no distant time.”
