Benue speaker appeals to workers to call off strike

Speaker, Benue  State House of Assembly, Honourable Terkimbir Ikyange  has  appealed to the striking workers in the state, not to insist on payment of five months' salary before they called off the indefinite strike.

The speaker spoke during an extraordinary session the house held with organised labour in the state.

Ikyangir said  the stand of the labour leaders to only call off the strike when four or five months, out of the outstanding salaries, were paid, amounted to telling the government to borrow money to the tune of N40 billion.

Labour had, on October 3, commenced the indefinite strike over non payment of seven months' salary to state civil servants and 11 months to primary school teachers and local government workers, as well as 13 months outstanding pension allowance to retirees.

However, the state governor, Samuel Ortom, during a radio programme, said his administration could only pay a month's salary across board due to lean resources.

The speaker, at the session said: "Insisting on four or five months' payment before suspending the ongoing strike will amount to government taking loan of N40 billion, but let me appeal to the labour leaders to allow government tackle headlong, the source of the huge wage bill.

"Part of the moves  is the ongoing screening exercise, which I think will help us find lasting solution to the problem."

Earlier, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Godwin Anya, stated that the union was worried about the huge wage bill and had commissioned a committee to come up with the exact wage bill of the state.

Anya further said the union had resolved on four or five months' payment before it suspended the on going strike due to the hardship workers were passing through in the state.

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