RATTAWU Gives Ultimatum Over Allowances

The Radio, Television,
Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) has issued an ultimatum to defaulting state governments in the South East to implement the weigh-in allowance for its members.
RATTAWU National Vice President, South East Zone, Mr Christian Ukegbu, gave the ultimatum on Tuesday while speaking in a telephone interview in Umuahia.
Ukegbu said that members of the union in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states would embark on an indefinite strike should the affected state governments fail to meet the Sept. 30 deadline.
“We have given a Sept. 30 deadline within which we expect these defaulting state governments to either implement the new weigh-in allowance or face an industrial action by our members. “We have communicated to them and expect them to invite us for dialogue in order to nip the impending industrial crisis in the bud,” he said.
Ukegbu said that the union adopted dialogue in order to maintain the existing industrial harmony between the union and the respective state governments.
“We appeal to the defaulting state governments to look at the difference and find a way of raising a supplementary budget to take care of our demand between now and then,” he said.
He said that the union had made several efforts to get its members to benefit from the allowance like their colleagues across the country, “but none of these has yielded any meaningful result.”
Ukegbu said that it was “ridiculous” that only Imo State had so far shown the will to pay. “We commend and appreciate Imo Government for being the first to implement.
“There is going to be a big problem between our union and these defaulting states because they don’t seem to be ready to pay,” Ukegbu emphasised.