Workers in Cross River have protested the payment of May
salary on the first day of the month by Gov. Ben Ayade.
Ayade has consistently paid the May salary on the first day
of the month in the last three years of his tenure.
But speaking to journalists, the state chairman of the Trade
Union Congress (TUC), Clarkson Otu, said workers and the leadership of labour
were unhappy over the early payment of salary.
According to the labour leader, even though the government
means well, labour was nonetheless not happy with the situation.
“As labour leaders we do not support early salaries payment.
We have told the governor that it is not proper. April salary was paid only
last week and on May 1st he pays May salary.
“We are surprised he still paid early this month in spite of
our protest. We will continue to engage him on that,” he said.
Speaking in a similar vein, the state Chairman of the
Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ben Ukpepi, decried the early payment of
salaries by the state government.
Ukpepi said labour would engage with the governor with a
view to putting an end to early payments of salaries in the state.
Meanwhile, Ayade has expressed his administration’s
readiness to implement the new minimum wage recently passed into law by
President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking through the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs
Tina Agbor at the May Day rally in Calabar, Ayade pledged to pay the new wage
once the modalities was worked out.
In spite of the state receiving one of the least revenue
allocations from the federation account and being the third most indebted
state, Ayade always pays civil servants early.
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