Date Published: 09/10/11

Labour leaders condemn Abia's plan to sack non-indigenes

Some labour leaders have condemned plans by the Abia State Government to disengage non-indigenes on its payroll to reduce the burden of implementing the new minimum wage.

Mr Olakunle Olaitan, the President, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that it was wrong to use the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage as an excuse to retrench workers.

NAN reports that Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia had told newsmen in Umuahia that the step was necessary to enable the state implement the new minimum wage, which has set many state governments against the organised labour.

Orji had said that arrangements had been concluded by his administration to absorb any Abia indigene affected by a similar policy in other states. Olaitan said: ``If he (Gov. Orji) has decided to do it that way, then he is creating more problems in trying to solve one issue. There is an issue and he is creating more problems to solve it.

``As much as we don’t have the power to stop him from doing it the way he has chosen to do it, we will also devise a means to ensure no worker is short-changed in the arrangement.``

The ASCSN president said the policy has negative implications as other states might follow suit by taking similar action against Abia indigenes in their workforce.

``Then the whole place will become a banana republic.” Olaitan advised the state to find other ways of addressing the challenges arising from the implementation of the new wage to avoid facing industrial action from labour.

Reacting to the development, Mr John Kolawale, General Secretary of Trade Union Congress (TUC), said that ``it sounded like tribalism’’. ``For the past years, the so called non indigenes have been part of the state employees. Is it because of the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage that Abia State Government will now describe its workers as non–indigenes. ``I think it is wrong.’’

Kolawale said the implementation of the minimum wage was for workers to be able to earn a good living and not to make them lose their jobs. ``I hope other states will not do the same thing because it is unfair. ‘’

(NAN)