RSG Restates Commitment To Workers’ Welfare

The Rivers State Government has restated total commitment to the welfare of workers in the State.

Secretary to the State Government, Mr. George Feyii, who stated this in Port Harcourt said the workforce remained the engine room of government and key player in achieving the State’s overall developmental obje-ctives.

Responding to some of the issues raised by Labour in a recent letter circulated to the media in the State, Mr. Feyii expressed dismay that the Union had feigned ignorance over the same issues it had amicably reached a resolution with government.

According to him, “Labour is aware that government has agreed to’ pay 70 percent salary relativity and had commenced full implementation of the N18,000.00 National Minimum Wage since October, 2011, while payment of arrears effective from 1st of April 2011, when the Federal Government signed it into law, to September, 2011, was to be made within six months in installments”.

On the issue of prompt payment of November and December salaries, the SSG clarified that every State in the Country was affected by the delay in the distribution of the monthly Federal Allocation from the Federation Account, pointing out that the November, 2011 salary was being paid by the State Government even at the time labour was circulating her protest letter while payment of December salary would commence in the next two days.

He however seized the opportunity to disclose steps taken by government to buoy up the monthly revenue profile of the State which, he noted, had remarkably been raised to over N6 billion compared to a paltry N2.S billion a month on inception of the present Administration.

Secretary to the State Government further stated that government’s determination to better the lot of workers in the State had necessitated her move for the inclusion of life Assurance Policy in the proposed amendment to the State pension Law at the public hearing by the State House of Assembly Committee on the Pension Scheme for Employees in the Public Service (Amendment) Bill 2011.

He therefore called on the organised labour in the State to always partner with government in positive ways to improve on the lives of the people and to access appropriate channels of machinery of government available to them to put the facts straight rather than indulge in acts capable of misinforming the general public.