LG, health workers call off 3-month old strike

Bayelsa Local Government and health workers on Thursday suspended a three-month-old strike they embarked on to protest non-payment of their salaries by their various local governments in the state.

A meeting of the Joint State Executive Council of the unions consisting of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and the Medical and Health Workers’ Union (MHWUN) unanimously agreed in Yenagoa to call off the strike.

The unions, in a communiqué signed by NULGE’s State President and Secretary, Messers Akpos Ekiegha and Peace Chukwu, directed all the workers to resume work on Oct. 16.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the State Chairman and Secretary of MHWUN, Mr James Adama and Letam Nwibani also signed the communiqué.

They said the decision to resume work was taken after reviewing the efforts of the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd) and the Commissioner for Local Government Administration, Mrs Agatha Goma.

The unions said the intervention of the duo in facilitating regular payment of salaries and some of the arrears during the strike were commendable and labour friendly adding that they deserved to be given the benefit of doubt to clear the backlog.

They called on the Local Government Service Commission and the Ministry of Local Government Administration to urgently work out ways of funding the Local Government Pension Board ( LGPB) to address pension challenges in the state.

“To achieve this, we candidly advise that a committee of critical stakeholders be urgently inaugurated to properly verify all pensioners.

“As the current retirement exercise is reducing wage bills of the council, it is our expectation that part of the funds realized from the retirement be channeled to the pension board to guarantee regular payment of at least the monthly pension,”, they said.

The unions also commended Gov. Seriake Dickson for personally intervening to resolve the plight of primary school teachers by approving monthly funding of their salary deficit.

They said the strike was precipitated by irregular payment of workers’ salaries which led to accumulated arrears.

“Our decision was also informed by government’s withdrawal from participating in the payment of primary school teachers.

“This development adversely affected the councils in the smooth discharge of their salary obligations to workers.

“ The consequence was the introduction of alternate salary payment between council workers and primary school teachers one month after the other,” the unions noted.