C'River: Newly Recruited LG Staff Protest Nine Months Unpaid Salaries
By Ekanem Asuquo
Newly recruited staff of the Cross River State Unified Local Government Service Commission on Monday staged a peaceful protest at the Governor’s Office in Calabar over the non payment of their salaries for nine months.
The workers, who said they were employed through the commission but have yet to be placed on the government payroll, appealed to Governor Bassey Otu to urgently intervene to address their plight.
Carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs, the protesters described the delay as a source of severe hardship, noting that many of them were struggling to meet basic family needs.
In a letter submitted to the governor during the protest, the workers explained that despite reporting to duty since their employment, they have not received any salary.
“For over nine months, many of us who were employed through the Local Government Service Commission have been reporting to our duty posts faithfully without being placed on the payroll. Despite our commitment to serve the state diligently, we have not received salaries to sustain ourselves and our families,” the letter stated.
They added that the situation has placed many families under serious financial strain, as some workers left small businesses to take up the government jobs while others relocated from different communities to resume duty.
The workers also noted that some of those deployed to health facilities across the state continue to render services despite struggling to afford transportation to their workplaces.
“Many of us now survive by borrowing money or depending on the kindness of colleagues and friends around our duty posts,” the workers said.
They stressed that the protest was not meant to confront the government but to seek urgent intervention to alleviate the hardship they have endured.
Responding to the protesters, the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Anthony Owan Enoh, assured them that the government was already working to resolve the matter.
He disclosed that several meetings had been held to address issues relating to the employment process and payroll placement.
According to him, a final meeting with Governor Otu is expected to hold on Thursday to conclude discussions on the matter.
Enoh explained that the delay in placing the workers on the payroll was partly due to the need to verify genuine employees and resolve administrative issues within the Local Government Service Commission.
He assured the workers that those duly employed would be placed on the payroll once the verification process is completed.
Meanwhile, as at the time of filing this report, many local government workers in the state were yet to receive their February salaries, although the majority of civil servants under the state government had already been paid for the month.
