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Reports that Governor Rauf Aregbesola is planning to cut workers’ salaries by 50 per cent in the wake of the current cash crunch is generating a lot of heat and raising a lot of dust.
The Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Mr. Jacob Adekomi, who led other labour leaders to address journalists on the issue said on Friday that the decision would lead to an unimaginable chaos if it was not rescinded.
The state government had not written to inform them officially about the pay cut, the workers admitted, but they warned that failure to stop the plan would be met with a very stiff opposition from the workers.
According to Adekomi, the state government has concluded plans to start paying workers the new rate starting from January 2015.
Adekomi said pensioners were paid 50 per cent of their pensions for November 2014 whereas the state government promised to pay them one month during the last meeting.
The NLC chairman stated that the salaries of the majority of the workers could not provide their basic needs, saying slashing the pay by 50 per cent would send many of them to their early graves.
Adekomi said, “It’s sad to inform the public that government had resolved to cut the salaries of public servants in Osun State by 50 per cent from January 2015 and we want to unequivocally say that it is unacceptable to the entire workforce in the State of Osun. It is satanic, wicked and suicidal for any government to arrive at this position after he had failed in his constitutional responsibilities for the past eight months.
” Never will the workers accept this. The situation the state government found itself was a product of its systemic failure and any attempt to cut the salaries of workers in the state by one per cent will be vehemently resisted and will lead to unimaginable chaos.”
Adekomi said the entire workforce in the state had been loyal to the Aregbesola administration but expressed surprise at the decision of the governor to slash the salaries of workers without negotiating with them on it.