BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation, has expressed concerns
over the refusal of state governments to pay workers’ salaries.
BudgIT said this in a statement on Thursday signed by Iyanu
Fatoba, assistant head, media and communications.
The organisation said the outcome of its 2022 Nigerian
Sub-National Salary Survey showed that at least 12 states owe their workers at
least one month’s salary as of July 28, 2022.
It urged concerned states to prioritise employees’ rights by paying all accrued salaries.
“BudgIT expressed
this disapproval after its empirical survey across the 36 states in the
federation revealed that at least 12 states owe their workers at least one
month’s salary as of July 28, 2022,” the statement reads.
“BudgIT conducted this empirical survey to spotlight and
identify state governments that have consistently failed to meet the essential
requirement of governance and employee compensation, thereby subjecting their
workers to unpaid labour and harsh living conditions.
While the findings from the survey favoured states that are
not in arrears, states like Abia, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Ondo and Taraba owe three
(3) years or less in payments.
“For example, Abia
state currently owes its state tertiary institution workers six (6) months’
salary, while Ebonyi has not paid its pensioners in the last six (6) months.
Secretariat workers in Taraba complained of irregular salary payments for up to
six (6) months, while lecturers at state tertiary institutions and midwives in
the state-owned hospital in Ondo State have not been paid a dime in the last
four (4) months.”
Iniobong Usen, BudgIT’s head of research and policy
advisory, said civil servants’ remuneration is a necessary part of the
employer-employee relationship, whether at the state or federal level.
Usen said the delay in payment of salaries affects the
smooth working of the government, adding that the survival and livelihood of
civil servants depend on timely salary payment and the government’s refusal to
pay shows its disregard for the legal obligation to pay.
“Nigerian civil servants are unfortunately no strangers to
delays and gaps in monthly salary payments. Despite belonging to the executive
implementing arm of the government, they have been left without payments in
many instances. With several states guilty of this non-payment, civil servants
are often at wit’s end at ‘month end,” he said.
The civic tech group further said the lingering issue has
become worrisome, adding that non-salary payments are a breach of the basic
contractual provisions between an employer and employee and failed to recognise
national legislation on employee rights at the continental and international
levels.
“BudgIT posits that this state of affairs is a combination
of ‘governance failure’ bordering on mismanagement and administrative
inefficiency, an unnecessarily large wage bill which itself may be due to poor
planning and hiring practices, and a problem of broader macroeconomic downturns
which in some sense are beyond the control of the state governments, as they
have little influence over monetary and fiscal policies,” the group added.
“Therefore, BudgIT calls on the various state governments to
urgently address this glaring inability to pay state workers’ salaries as the
attitude, enthusiasm, productivity and survival of state workers and their
families are directly related to the timeliness of their remuneration.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com