IMO WORKERS TO RECEIVE 70% OF SALARY ARREARS, GHOST WORKERS TO BE FISHED OUT
Workers under the employ of the Imo State government are to receive seventy percent of salary arrears owed them for the month of January this year.
The State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Austin Chilakpu and the Special Adviser to Governor Rochas Okorocha on Technical Matters, Chief Ikenna Emeh announced this while addressing a joint news conference in Owerri.
The Imo state government and the organized labour had on the tenth of last month entered into an agreement to end months of industrial disharmony in the state.
Part of the agreement was the re-instatement of workers suspended from public service in January this year.
The document also read that seventy percent of the gross revenue accruing to the state every month would be used for payment of salaries and pensions while the remaining thirty percent would be used for running the affairs of the government.
This development had apparently delayed the payment of January and February salaries as the eighteen- member Government/Labour Joint Committee had to work out modalities and verify figures declared by the Accountant-General of the state.
The State Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress and Leader of Labour representatives in the Committee Comrade Austin Chilakpu told Newsmen that only seventy percent of workers salaries would be paid for the month of January due to shortfall in revenue.
According to him, the Committee has a monthly financial burden of five point three billion naira whereas only three point three billion was received for the said month.
Comrade Chilakpu explained that the committee would take a second look at the wage bill from the month of February noting that measures had been taken to fish out ghost workers in the system.
He assured workers that the remaining thirty percent of their salaries would be paid as soon as revenue improves.
The Special Adviser to Governor Rochas Okorocha on Technical Matters and Leader of Government representatives in the Committee Chief Ikenna Emeh expressed the optimism that the fortunes of the state would soon improve.
Chief Emeh said the seventy percent salary payment had commenced and that it would apply to every worker in the state irrespective of cadre.
Correspondent Chinazo Ilechukwu in Owerri