DISENGAGED ABIA WORKERS DEMAND FOR SALARIES ARREARS
WORKERS disengaged from Abia State civil service in 2011 have urged the state government to pay them the arrears of their salaries. Recall that the former Abia State Governor, Senator Theodore Orji, on October 1, 2011, ordered t
he disengagement of over 4, 000 non-indigenous workers from its workforce and later recalled the affected workers from outside the South-East zone. Leader of the disengaged workers, Fidelia Ihejirika, who spoke to journalists in Aba, lamented that only five percent of the workers have been reinstated, while the others are roaming the streets. She accused the state government of playing politics with the issue. Ihejirika said: “Majority of the disengaged workers have not been reinstated. All you are hearing are lies. Only five percent of the workers were recalled. The over 4,000 workers were sacked the same day, and yet only few have been recalled. Is this not discrimination? Let them pay us our five-year arrears of salaries since 2011. “About 71 of us have died. Our children have dropped from schools. Some have packed to their villages. “We were disengaged because we were not from Abia State. Those from non-Igbo states were recalled. “Is this not a great injustice, because people from Abia State are still working in Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra states? If they no longer want us, they should pay us off. Should we go empty handed after 35 years of service?” She alleged that those who got recall letters posting them to their areas of assignment are yet to receive their salaries. When contacted, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Mr. Godwin Adindu, said he no longer speaks on issues that involve government decisions.
