The Nigeria Labour Congress, Kaduna State Council has kicked against Plans by the State government to carry out another round of mass sack as well as casualisation in the state civil service.
It says any sack of workers whose appointments are statutorily protected must be based on strict compliance with the disciplinary procedure as provided in the public service rules.
At a news conference in Kaduna on Wednesday, the State Chairman and Secretary of the council, Comrades Ayuba Magaji Suleiman and Christiana Bawa expressed regret that Kaduna State has woken to a new style of governance where there is no security of tenure in the public service
According to the Labour leaders, the Kaduna state government, recently in a manner defying of all rationality and logic especially in the face excruciating economic reality, sent a letter to the Head of Service apparently preparatory to another round of mass sack in
the public service .
In the letter which was signed by the PPS, they said, requested for the comprehensive list of staff from all the MDAS as categorized below:
“1. Officers that are 50 years and above – Compulsory retirement
“2. Officers on GL/14 and above, even if they are less than 50 years – Compulsory Retirement
“3. All categories of officers on GL 01 -06 – Conversion to casual
“4. And that no Local Government should have more than 50 staff strength.
Kaduna State Government, they said, should weigh the effect and cost implication of the mass sack on the society and the implication it will bear on families and already compromised security situation in the state.
The labour leaders recalled that the last mass sack of workers in the public service of Kaduna state, were undertaken without recourse to the payment of Gratuity. Section 210 of the
1999 constitution which guarantees Pension Rights and also without any fair hearing accorded the affected
” If the workers that were sacked in 2016 are yet to be paid their entitlements, how can the KDSG guarantee the payment of terminal benefits of those being sacked now”, they asked.
They observed that the State is already faced with issues of insecurity, unemployment, poverty, the devastating effect of Covid-19 pandemic and dwindling business prospects, therefore
any additional pain on
citizens will reasonably be repulsive to conscience.
The labour leaders who frowned at the sacking of thousands of workers in the Local Government Services of the State on Tuesday 6th Apri 2021 also called on the State Government to reverse the unpopular decision on the mass sack of workers, and seek alternative means of running government without inflicting additional pains on the public.
They said it would interest everyone to note that the N5bn monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which the government was celebrating was generated through the hard work of the workers in public service of Kaduna whose only reward regrettably, seems to be mass sack, arbitrary/inconsistencies in salaries which most often fluctuates.
The NLC therefore enjoined people of goodwill such as senior citizens, the political class, the clergy, traditional rulers among others to partner with
organized labour with a view to save the state from needless skirmishes.
