Rivers Civil Servants Protest Non-Payment Of Salaries

Scores of Civil Servants yesterday staged a protest at the Rivers State Secretariat Complex over what they described as non-payment of March and April salaries to civil servants and pensioners allowances for the past four months.
The Tide learnt that yesterday marked the second consecutive day that the civil servants were rolling out the drums to warn of an imminent industrial action, if the state government fails to pay workers their salaries.
Speaking to The Tide, the leader of the protesters, Comrade Tony Ochia said the  civil servants were moblisied to protest the non-payment of their salaries while some pensioners whose allowances have not been paid for the last four months also joined the protest.
Ochia said the civil servants had appealed to the state government to pay the March and April salaries, but regretted that the government has not shown any commitment towards offsetting all outstanding salaries hence the workers decided to mobilize for the warning strike.
He warned that if the state government fails to pay all the outstanding salary arrears, including the pensioners’ allowances before Friday, May 15, 2015 the entire civil servants in the state would have no alternative than to embark on full industrial action from Monday, May 18, 2015.
He advised the state government to consider the plight of the civil servants and their families, especially now that many of their wards have been sent out of schools due to non-payment of school fees.
Ochia emphasized that many civil servants and pensioners were groaning under severe hardship, even without transport fares to their various working places.
He advised the state Governor, Chibuike Amaechi to leave a good legacy behind as he leaves office on May 29, 2015, by paying civil servants all their salaries till May without the incoming government inheriting any backlog of salary arrears, stressing that the governor has been workers friendly throughout his tenure.
He cautioned that the present atmosphere was rubbishing the good records of the past seven years.
But in a swift reaction, the state Chairman, Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (Joint Council), Comrade Emecheta Chukwu, condemned the protest, describing the self-styled leader of the protesters as irresponsible and the protest, illegal.
Speaking to The Tide in a telephone interview, the Joint Council Chairman said, he was in Abuja on union assignments, but promised to handle the situation when he returns to Port Harcourt.
Chukwu said the protest, led by Comrade Tony Ochia and his cohorts was an illegal action, stressing that everything was being done to ensure the balance of March salary was paid by the state government.
He said the state government last Monday commenced the payment of part of March salary to the workers, stressing that April’s salary would soon be paid.
The JPSNC Chairman said that the union cannot guarantee the payment of May salaries by the state government before the May 29, 2015 hand over date.
He appealed for calm and understanding of the civil servants as the union leaders were not relenting in their efforts to ensure prompt payment of salaries and pensioners’ allowances by the government.
The Tide learnt that civil servants receiving salaries through Zenith Bank Plc and First City Mounment Bank (FCMB) have received their March salaries but workers, whose salaries are paid through UBA Plc, Ecobank, among others, are yet to receive their March salaries.
It would be recalled the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Ibim Semenitari, last week disclosed plans by the State government to commence payment of workers’ salaries for April this week.

Philip Okparaji