cross River: Ayade, TUC Disagree Over Payment Gratuity, Promotion Arrears
Cross River: Ayade, TUC disagree over payment of gratuity, promotion arrears
By Ubon Ekanem
Trade Union Congress, TUC, in Cross River, has debunked claims by the former governor, Ben Ayade, that pensions and gratuities, including promotion arrears have been cleared.
Recall that Ayade, in a recent interview on Arise TV, had claimed that his administration has cleared gratuities, pensions and salaries for the past several years.
The out gone governor had on May Day celebration lifted embargo on workers' promotion in Cross River and even gone ahead to appoint five additional permanent secretaries few weeks to the end of his administration.
As at the time of filling this report, civil servants have been directed to go for screening at their various ministries.
But reacting, chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Monday Ogbodum, made a rebuttal, saying no civil servant in the state was promoted by the Prof. Ben Ayade led administration in the last seven years.
The TUC Chairman, who scored the outgoing administration low on workers welfare, said beside regular payment of salaries and pensions, workers had the worst of welfare experience under Ayade.
Ogbodum said that the last time retirees were paid gratuity was in 2014, adding that implementation of promotion to workers promoted since 2016 has not been 100 percent implemented to state workers while nothing has been done to local government workers.
"For payment of gratuities, a committee put in place by government to actualise and effect payment, has become moribund after the initial released of the sum of two hundred million Naira (N200,000,000), between January and April, 2022 which could not accommodate all retirees in the month of March, 2014.
"No further release of funds has been made by government. Therefore, payment of gratuities to state retirees from April, 2014 and local government workers from 2012 till date.
"Annual incremental rate used to be a thing of joy and a little relief to workers when at the month of January every year a token is being added to their salaries, but government has reneged on this despite the MOU entered into.
"On supply of computers, workers’ salaries were deducted for this purpose and up till now, some workers have not been supplied computers.
"The committee as captured in the MOU to ascertain the outstanding liabilities has not been set up by the government, " he stated.
He further said that the last minimum wage was yet to be fully implemented by the outgoing administration, explaining that only workers between level one to six have fully enjoyed payment of the minimum wage while it was yet to be fully implemented for workers on grade level seven and above.
Ogbodum, who doubles as the State chairman of the Senior Civil Servants Association of Nigeria, enjoined the incoming administration of Sen. Bassey Otu to prioritise workers welfare in order to get the best out of them.
